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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



A COMPILATION 



CONTAINING THE 



Constitution and Canons 



OF THE 



Protestant Episcopal Church 



IN THE 



Diocese of Maryland; 

SELECTED CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION; 
RESOLUTIONS, ETC.; 

AND 

LAWS OF MARYLAND 

RELATING TO 

RELIGIOUS MATTERS 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE CONVENTION. 



LYCETT STATIONERS, 
BALTIMORE. 
1907. 



LlftHARY of CONGRESS 
Two Cooies Received 

AUG 24 I90r 

A Cooyneht Entry 
CLASi/ 4 'xxcfa. 
COPY 6. 



Extracts from the Journal of the Convention of 1905, pp. 17 and 23. 

On motion of Rev. William Meade Dame, D.D., the following Resolution 

was adopted : 

Resolved, That the Committee on Canons be instructed to prepare and pub- 
lish, in an inexpensive form, an edition of seven hundred copies of a new Com- 
pilation of Canons, Laws, Rules, Forms, etc., on the same general plan as the 
existing Compilation ; that the copyright of such Compilation be secured in 
the name of the Convention and that the Treasurer be instructed to make such 
arrangements for its sale as he may think best. 

On motion of the Rev. J. S. B. Hodges, S.T.D., the following Resolution 
was adopted : 

Resolved, That the Committee on Canons and Other Business requests the 
appointment of Messrs. Joseph Packard and J. Wirt Randall to assist the 
Committee in the preparation of the New Edition of the Compilation. 

The Committee on Canons and Other Business consisted of Rev. Arthur 
Chilton Powell, D.D., Rev. Joseph P. McComas, Rev. G. Mosley Murray, 
Daniel M. Thomas and Edward N: Rich. The Committee was assisted by 
Messrs. Joseph Packard and J. Wirt Randall. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1907, 
BY THE 

CONVENTION OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH OE THE 
DIOCESE OE MARYLAND. 



Pbess of 

Pearre E. Ceowl Company, Printers, 
1 E. German St., 

BALTIMORE. 



Stye Iteriantttnn af SUgljia* 

o 

A Declaration of Certain Fundamental Rights and Liberties of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church of Maryland. 

Whereas, By the Constitution and Form of Government of this 
State, "All persons, professing the Christian Religion, are equally 
entitled to protection in their religious liberty, and no person, by any 
law (or otherwise) ought to be molested in his person, or estate, on 
account of his religious persuasion or profession, or for his religious 
practice ; unless, under color of religion, any man shall disturb the 
good order, peace or safety of the State, or shall infringe the laws of 
morality, or injure others in their natural, civil or religious rights ;" 
and 

Whereas, The ecclesiastical and spiritual independence of the dif- 
ferent religious Denominations, Societies, Congregations and 
Churches of Christians in this State necessarily follows from, or is 
included in, their civil independence ; 

Wherefore, we, the Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church of 
Maryland (heretofore denominated the Church of England, as by 
law established) with all duty to the civil authority of the State, and 
with all love and good will to our fellow Christians of every other 
religious Denomination, do hereby declare, make known and claim 
the following, as certain of the fundamental Rights and Liberties 
inherent in, and belonging to, the said Episcopal Church, not only of 
common right, but agreeably to the express words, spirit and design 
of the Constitution and Form of Government aforesaid, viz: 

I. We consider it as the undoubted right of the said Protestant 
Episcopal Church, in common with other Christian Churches under 
the American Revolution, to complete and preserve herself as an 
entire Church, agreeably to her ancient usages and profession, and to 
have the full enjoyment and free exercise of those purely spiritual 
powers, which are essential to the being of every Church or Congre- 
gation of the faithful, and which, being derived only from Christ 
and His Apostles, are to be maintained, independent of every foreign 
or other jurisdiction, so far as may be consistent with the civil rights 
of society. 

II. That ever since the Reformation, it hath been the received doc- 
trine of the Church whereof we are members (and which, by the 
Constitution of this State, is entitled to the perpetual enjoyment of 
certain property and rights under the denomination of the Church of 



THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 



England), "That there be these three Orders of Ministers in Christ's 
Church, Bishops, Priests and Deacons/' and that an Episcopal Ordi- 
nation and Commission are necessary to the valid administration of 
the Sacraments, and the due exercise of the Ministerial Functions, in 
the said Church. 

III. That, without calling in question the Rights, Modes and 
Forms of any other Christian Churches or Societies, or wishing the 
least contest with them on that subject, we consider and declare it to 
be an essential right of the said Protestant Episcopal Church to have 
and enjoy the continuance of the said three Orders of Ministers for- 
ever, so far as concerns matters purely spiritual ; and that no persons, 
in the character of Ministers, except such as are in the communion of 
said Church and duly called to the Ministry by regular Episcopal Or- 
dination, can or ought to be admitted into, or enjoy, any of the 
"Churches, Chapels, Glebes, or other property," formerly belonging 
to the Church of England, in this State, and which, by the Constitu- 
tion and Form of Government, is secured to the said Church forever, 
by whatsoever name she, the said Church, or her superior Order of 
Ministers, may, in future, be denominated. 

IV. That, as it is the right, so it will be the duty, of the said 
Church, when duly organized, constituted and represented, in a 
Synod or Convention of the different Orders of her Ministry and 
People, to revise her Liturgy, Forms of Prayer, and Publick Wor- 
ship, in order to adapt the same to the late Revolution, and other 
local circumstances of America : which, it is humbly conceived, may 
and will be done, without any other or farther departure from the 
venerable Order and beautiful Forms of Worship of the Church 
from whence we sprung, than may be found expedient in the change 
of our situation from a Daughter to a Sister Church. 

The foregoing Declaration was made in a Convention of the Clergy 
of this Church, held at Annapolis, on the Thirteenth day of August, 
in the year of our Lord 1783; and recognized and confirmed in 
Convention of the Clergy and Lay Delegates, at Easton, on the 
Thirty- fir st day of May, in the year of our Lord 1790 ; And signed, 

WILLIAM WEST, President. 



Attest, John Bissett, Secretary. 



©0tt0ittUtt0tt 



Article ft. There shall be a Convention of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church in this Diocese, 1 on the last Wednesday in May, in 
every year, in such places as shall be determined by the Convention. 
Where the next Thursday shall be Ascension Day, the Convention 
shall meet on the Wednesday of the preceding week. 2 

Article 2. The Convention shall be composed of Clergymen 
and Laymen. The Bishop, and Bishop Coadjutor, 3 if there be 
one, shall have a seat and vote in the Convention. Every Clergy- 
man of this Church, of whatever Order, being a settled Minister of 
some Parish or separate Congregation, acknowledged as such by 
this Convention, within this Diocese ; or, being a president, professor, 
tutor, or instructor in some college, academy, or seminary of learning, 
incorporated by law; or, being a missionary, under the direction of 
the Ecclesiastical Authority of this Diocese, shall be entitled to a seat 
and vote in Convention, if he has been canonically resident within 
this Diocese for the space of six calendar months next before the 
meeting of the Convention ; Provided, That no Clergyman, who has 
been once entitled to a seat in Convention, shall lose his right to a 
seat therein, by reason of his having ceased, on account of age or 
infirm health, to have charge of a Parish or to be in the service of a 
college, academy or seminary of learning, or to be a missionary as 
^aforesaid. 

The Laymen shall consist of one Delegate from each Parish and 
separate Congregation, 4 chosen by the Vestry thereof, or, if there be 
no Vestry, by the Congregation, from among the parishioners ; — 
Provided, That every Parish and separate Congregation having more 

1. The word State changed to Diocese here and in Articles 6, 10 and 11, in 
1870. Journal, p. 12. See also, 1869, p. 14. 

2. This sentence was added in 1879. Journal, p. 51. 

3. Title Bishop Coadjutor adopted instead of Assistant Bishop. Journal, 
1900, p. 11. 

4. The words and separate Congregation, here and hereafter in the Constitu- 
tion, inserted in 1882. Journal, p. 64, 65. 



6 



CONSTITUTION. 



than one officiating Minister, who hath been regularly and canon- 
ically elected, shall be entitled to send as many Delegates as it has 
Ministers who are entitled to seats in the Convention. But before 
any Lay Delegate shall take his seat, he shall subscribe to the follow- 
ing declaration : "I do hereby declare my belief in the Christian re- 
ligion and attachment to the Protestant Episcopal Church, and pro- 
fess myself a member thereof/' 

Article 3. Twenty 1 members of the Clerical and twenty 1 of the 
Lay Order shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business ; 
but a smaller number may adjourn. 

Article 4. In all matters that shall come before the Convention, 
the Clergy and Laity shall deliberate in one body ; but if, upon any 
question, it be required by five members, the two Orders shall vote 
separately, and the concurrence of a majority of each Order shall be 
necessary to give validity to any measure. 

Article 5. The election of a Bishop of this Church shall be 
made in Convention by a concurrent vote of the Clergy and of the 
Laity, the two Orders voting by ballot, separately ; and when all the 
votes of both Orders shall have been deposited, the tellers of the 
Clerical and of the Lay vote, respectively, shall proceed to count the 
votes, and if among those voted for, one shall be found to have re- 
ceived a majority in each Order of the votes of those entitled to 
seats, he shall be declared duly elected. 

Provided, That whenever it shall be proposed to elect a Bishop Co- 
adjutor of this Diocese, notice thereof shall be given at an Annual 
Convention, and the election shall take place at the succeeding An- 
nual Convention, or at a Special Convention called for the purpose 

Article 6. The Bishop of the Church in this Diocese shall be 
President of the Convention ; in which character it shall be his duty 
to give to the Convention, as often as he may deem expedient, a 
general view of the state of the Church ; to call special conventions, 
at whatever times and places he may think necessary ; to preserve 
order during the time of session ; to put the question, collect the 
votes, and declare the decision. He may make any motion which he 
shall judge conducive to the good of the Church, but shall not enter 
into debate; and he may deliver his sentiments on any subject, after 
it has been discussed, before a vote thereon. 

1. Originally eight members; eight changed to twenty in 1882. Journal, 
p. 64. 



CONSTITUTION. 



Article 7. In case of a vacancy in the Episcopal Office, the Con- 
vention, immediately upon their assembling, shall choose, by joint 
ballot, a President, from among the Order of Priests, who shall re- 
main in office until the next election of a President. He shall per-' 
form all the duties and possess all the privileges above specified ; but 
he shall not call special meetings of the Convention, unless applied 
to for that purpose by a majority of the Standing Committee ; but if 
at any time there should be no President, the Standing Committee 
shall have power to call a special meeting of the Convention when 
deemed necessary. 1 And if, while there is a Bishop in this Church, 
he shall not be present at any meeting of the Convention, they shall 
elect, in the manner aforesaid, a President pro tempore. 

Article 8. A Secretary shall likewise be chosen, immediately 
upon the assembling of the Annual Convention, by a joint ballot; 
who shall remain in office until the next election of a Secretary. 
If but one is nominated, the ballot may be dispensed with. 2 His 
duty shall be: to make minutes of their proceedings ; to preserve 
their journals and records ; to attest the public acts of the body ; and 
faithfully to deliver into the hands of his successor all books and 
papers, relative to the concerns of the Convention, which may be 
in his possession. It shall be his duty to notify, through the chan- 
nel of such public papers as he may think proper, the time and place 
appointed for the meeting of the succeeding Convention. 

Article 9. Before the adjournment of each Annual Conven- 
tion, a Standing Committee, consisting of seven members, 3 shall be 
chosen from among the Order of Priests, by a joint ballot of the 
Clergy and Laity; and if a vacancy shall occur, by death, removal, 
resignation, or otherwise, the remaining members, or a majority of 
them, shall be authorized to fill such vacancy ; always supplying the 
vacancy by one of the Order of Priests. In all elections of commit- 
tees, by joint ballot, no member of the said committee shall be elected 
unless he shall receive a majority of the votes of all the attending 
members. 

Article 10. 4 Every Parish and separate Congregation within 
this Diocese shall be entitled to the entire benefit of this Constitution 

1. This clause adopted 1885, p. 32. 

2. Added in 1866, p. 12. 1865, p. 7. 

3. See Journal of 1868, p. 11. 

4. Former Article 10 stricken out (Journal, 1901, p. 13), and following 
Articles numbered accordingly. 



8 



CONSTITUTION. 



as soon as it shall have signified its ratification thereof, either in 
writing, or by sending a Lay Delegate to the Convention ; and such 
Parish and separate Congregation shall thereafter be benefited and 
•bound, equally with the other Parishes and separate Congregations 
in this Diocese, by every rule or canon, which shall be framed by 
any Convention, acting under this Constitution, for the government 
of this Church in ecclesiastical concerns. 

Article 11. This Constitution shall be unalterable except in the 
following manner : A proposition for any change shall be introduced 
in writing and considered in Convention ; and, if approved of, the 
same shall be transmitted to the several Vestries of the Parishes 
and separate Congregations which shall have ratified this Constitu- 
tion. And, if again approved of in the next ensuing Convention, 
by a majority of the respective Orders, voting thereon separately, 
the change shall take place and the Constitution so altered shall be 
valid and obligatory. 



CANONS 

OF THE 

DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



OF THE CONVENTION, AND OF THE CHURCH IN THIS 

DIOCESE. 

O 

CANON I. 

Of the titles of Clergymen to seats in Convention. 

No Clergyman removing from another Diocese into the Diocese of 
Maryland shall be entitled to a seat in the Convention, as having 
been regularly and canonically elected into a Parish or separate 
Congregation, unless it shall have been signified to the Secretary 
of the Convention by the Bishop; or, in a case of a vacancy in the 
Episcopal Office, by the President of the Standing Committee, that 
he had obtained from him a certificate of his Episcopal ordination 
and religious character; nor, unless the Bishop, or President, shall 
have received from the Vestry and transmitted to the Secretary the 
certificate required by the 14th Canon of the General Convention of 
1904. In the case of a Clergyman canonically resident in the Dio- 
cese, elected into a Parish or separate Congregation, he shall be re- 
quired, immediately after his acceptance of the appointment, to 
transmit to the Bishop a certificate from the Wardens and Vestry 
of the said election. No Clergyman shall have a seat in the Con- 
vention, as an instructor of youth in any seminary of learning, till 
he shall have produced to the Convention a certificate from the 
Rector and Vestry, and if there be no Rector, from the Vestry of 
the Parish in which it is situated or of some separate Congregation 
within such Parish, acknowledged as such by the Convention, that 

Canon, 1806. Amended, 1835, 1844, 1847, 1863. 



10 CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



he is so occupied. No Clergyman shall be entitled to a seat in the 
Convention as an infirm Clergyman unless he shall produce a cer- 
tificate from some respectable physician that his state of health un- 
fits him for the active duties of the ministry, and there be evidence 
that, at the time his health became infirm, he was entitled to a seat 
in the Convention. 

CANON II. 

Of Absentees from the Convention, to be Noted. 

At every meeting of the Convention, it shall be the duty of the 
Secretary to report the names of such Clergymen, entitled to seats, 
as may have absented themselves from two successive Conventions, 
and the Convention shall take such order thereon as may be deemed 
expedient. 

Canon V, 1835. Amended, 1847, 1863. 

CANON III. 
Of the Secretary of the Convention. 

Section 1. In addition to the duties assigned to the Secretary 
by the Constitution, it is hereby made his duty to transmit annually 
to each of the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States and to the Secretary of the last House of Clerical and 
Lay Deputies of the General Convention and to the Secretary of 
every Diocesan Convention, a copy of the Journal of the Conven- 
tion; and he shall request the last to send copies of their respective 
Journals in exchange. 

Sec. 2. He shall also transmit to each General Convention a 
certificate of the appointment of Clerical and Lay Deputies, and of 
the nomination of Trustees of the General Theological Seminary, 
and do such other acts as may be from time to time required of him 
by authority of the General or Diocesan Convention. 

Canon, 1873. 

CANON IV. 

Of the Treasurer of the Convention. 

Section 1. At every Annual Convention there shall be elected 
a Treasurer of the Convention, who shall remain in office until a 
successor be appointed. 



CANOXS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARY LAX D. 



11 



Sec. 2. It shall be his duty to receive all moneys collected under 
the authority of the Convention and to disburse the same under its 
authority ; and when incidental expenses arise, not ordered by the 
Convention, the Treasurer, by and with the consent of the Commit- 
tee of Ways and Means, shall be authorized to pay them, provided 
they do not exceed the sum of $100 per annum. He shall render 
his accounts annually to the Convention, which shall be audited by 
a Committee acting under its authority. In case of a vacancy in the 
office of Treasurer, by death, removal from the Diocese or by resig- 
nation, the Bishop, with the advice and consent of the Standing Com- 
mittee, shall have power to appoint a Treasurer to act until an ap- 
pointment is made at the next succeeding Convention. 

Canon, 1873. Amended, 1888. 

CANON V. 

Of Provision for Defraying Certain Expenses, 

The Vestry of each Parish or Church shall, on or before the first 
of November of each year, pay to the Treasurer such sums as may 
be required from them respectively by resolution of the Convention 
from time to time, for the purpose of paying the salary of the 
Bishop, and Bishop-Coadjutor 1 if there be one, the traveling ex- 
penses of the Standing Committee and the Delegates to the General 
Convention ; printing the Journal ; compensation to the Secretary 
and other incidental expenses of the Convention, and such other 
appropriations as may be made by resolution of the Convention. 

Canon XII, 1835. Amended 1847, 1863, 1873, 1885. 
1 See note 3, p. 7. 

CANON VI. 

Of Parochial Reports. 

In case of the absence of the Bishop from any Convention, the 
reports which are required to be delivered to him by the 47th Canon 
of the General Convention of 1904, shall be delivered to the Presi- 
dent of the Convention. 

Canon, 1855. Amended, 1887. 



12 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



CANON VII. 

Of the Erection of New Parishes or Congregations. 

Section 1. No part of a Parish shall separate itself from the 
residue thereof as a distinct Parish, nor shall any number of mem- 
bers of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in any Parish, associate 
themselves as a separate Congregation therein, without first obtain- 
ing leave of the Convention, who shall judge of the necessity and 
expediency of such separation. And leave thus obtained for such 
separation or association, shall be a guarantee that the parties in- 
terested shall, on application, be received into union with this Con- 
vention ; Provided, The Convention shall be satisfied that the Parish 
or Congregation have a Church edifice, sufficient for the accommo- 
dation of a reasonable number of persons, finished or so nearly 
finished as in the judgment of the Convention to afford a reasonable 
prospect that it will be completed; and further, that they are not in- 
debted to such an extent as to endanger their stability, and have also 
a reasonable prospect of self-support; Provided, however, That no 
Parish or Congregation, although constituted with the consent of 
the Convention, shall be considered as a part of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in this Diocese without a strict conformity, on the 
part of such Parish or Congregation, to the use of the Liturgy of 
the said Church, nor without a compliance, in case of a Parish, with 
the provisions of the Act entitled, "An Act for the Establishment of 
Vestries for each Parish in this State," passed November session, 
1798 ; or, in case of a Congregation, with the provisions of any laws 
which have been, or may be, passed by the State of Maryland; Pro- 
vided, Said laws shall be first accepted by the Convention of this 
Diocese. 

Sec. 2. Persons intending to apply for leave to organize a new 
Parish, or a separate Congregation, within an established Parish, 
shall at least three months before the meeting of the Convention to 
which application is intended to be made, place in the hands of the 
Bishop, or, if there be no Bishop, of the Ecclesiastical Authority of 
the Diocese, a petition for leave to organize a new Parish or sepa- 
rate Congregation, which petition shall be in the proper one of the 
two forms, numbered I. and VII. of "Forms for the Formation of 
New Parishes and Congregations. " The petition shall be accom- 
panied by a statement of the reasons why leave to organize a new 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



13 



Parish or Congregation is asked; and by an affidavit of the person 
or persons who set up or gave the notice or notices required by the 
Instructions for the Formation of new Parishes or Congregations ; 
which affidavit shall show that the notices were set up or given as 
required by the said Instructions ; and a petition for leave to organize 
a new Parish shall also be accompanied by an accurate map, show- 
ing the metes and bounds of the proposed new Parish and of the 
Parish or Parishes from which it is proposed that it shall be taken ; 
and also the location of the Churches and Chapels within these Par- 
ishes ; and it shall be the duty of the Bishop, or Ecclesiastical Author- 
ity, to send all such petitions, statements and maps, at least sixty 
days before the meeting of the Convention, to the Committee on the 
Admission of New Parishes and Congregations, which was ap- 
pointed at the previous session of the Convention, which Committee 
shall hear and consider all such applications before the meeting of 
the Convention and make report thereon to such Convention. 

Sec. 3. A Parish or Congregation applying for admission into 
union with the Convention of the Diocese, shall, at least three 
months before the meeting of the Convention to which the application 
is to be made, place in the hands of the Bishop, or of the Ecclesiasti- 
cal Authority of the Diocese, a petition for admission into union with 
the Convention, which petition shall be in the proper one of the two 
Forms numbered V. and X., of "Forms for the Formation of New 
Parishes and Congregations," together with the other requisite 
papers, and it shall be the duty of the Bishop, or Ecclesiastical Au- 
thority, to send all such petitions and papers, at least sixty days be- 
fore the meeting of the Convention, to the Committee on the Ad- 
mission of New Parishes and Congregations, which Committee shall 
consider all such applications before the meeting of the Convention 
and make report thereon to the Convention. 

Sec. 4. Whenever hereafter any Church in union with the Con- 
vention shall neglect for three years in succession to make a 
Parochial Report, and shall not during the same period have em- 
ployed a Clergyman as its Parish Minister, such Church shall be 
regarded as having forfeited its connection with the Convention and 
shall no longer have a right to send a delegate to the same. The 
Bishop shall report such Church to the Convention in his Annual 
Address. Such Church, however, may be re-admitted upon applica- 
tion to the Convention, accompanied by a report of its condition, 



14 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



and on such terms as shall appear just; such re-admission to take 
effect from and after the rising of the Convention consenting to such 

admission. 

Sec. 5. No new place of worship shall be established until con- 
sent has been given by the Bishop and the Standing Committee. 

Amended, 1894, 1897, 1900, 1901, 1907. 

Canons of 1793, 1794, 1799, 1803, 1835, 1845, 1847, 1851, 1881, 1886. 

CANON VIII, 
Of Missions. 

Section 1. Each Annual Convention of the Diocese shall take or- 
der for Church Extension and Support. It shall elect members of 
the Committee of Missions, as hereinafter provided; shall review and 
direct the work of said Committee as it may deem wise ; and shall 
authorize the Committee to raise a specified sum of money for the 
Missionary Work of the Diocese. 

Sec. 2. There shall be a Committee of Missions, which shall 
consist of the Bishop, the Bishop-Coadjutor, if any, the Archdea- 
cons, one Layman to be elected by each Archdeaconry, as provided 
in Canon IX, and three Clergymen and three Laymen to be elected 
by each Annual Convention. All members shall serve until their 
successors are elected. The Committee shall have power to fill va- 
cancies which may occur in the number of elected members between 
meetings of the Convention, and it may adopt such rules as it may 
find expedient for the transaction of its business. At any meeting 
seven members shall constitute a quorum. 

Sec. 3. The Committee of Missions shall have supervision of 
the Missionary Work of the Diocese, and shall devise plans for 
Church Extension and Support, and for developing Missionary in- 
terest throughout the Diocese. 

Sec. 4. The Committee shall receive and disburse all contribu- 
tions for Diocesan Missionary Work; it may apportion to the sev- 
eral Archdeaconries the sum authorized by the Convention to be 
raised, and may distribute to the Archdeaconries the amount to be 
expended for Missionary Work within their limits. It may also, in 
its discretion, give pecuniary assistance to Clergymen in charge of 
Parishes or Congregations which are now, or may be hereafter, in 
union with this Convention. 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



15 



Sec. 5. No Mission shall be established, nor any Missionary 
appointed by said Committee of Missions, but with the advice and 
consent of the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese. 

Sec. 6. The Committee of Missions shall also receive and dis- 
burse the Fund for Superannuated and Disabled Clergy, and any 
Clergyman, who shall have been canonically resident and continu- 
ously at work in this Diocese for twenty-five years, and shall have 
reached the age of seventy, shall be entitled to, and on his applica- 
tion to the Bishop, stating his desire to retire from the active duties 
of his ministry, shall receive a minimum retiring allowance of $400 
per annum from such fund. 

Sec. 7. The Committee shall appoint one of its lay members 
Treasurer of the funds to be administered by it, who shall disburse 
the same under the direction of the Committee, and shall report to 
each Annual Convention. 

Sec. 8. It shall be the duty of the Minister in charge of each 
Parish, Congregation or Mission to devise and carry into effect 
ways and means for the collection of moneys for the work of the 
Church herein provided for. 

Sec. 9. It is hereby declared that, in so far as the City of Balti- 
more is concerned, said Committee of Missions is intended to be, 
and shall be considered as the substitute for the City Committee of 
Missions in Baltimore, referred to in the preamble to the articles of 
association of the Baltimore City Protestant Episcopal Missionary 
Committee. 

Sec. 10. Nothing in this Canon contained shall be construed or 
taken to interfere with or hinder the Baltimore City Protestant 
Episcopal Missionary Committee in conducting Missionary or other 
work within the scope of its charter ; nor to prohibit any Parish or 
Congregation from conducting any Missionary operations of its 
own, and appropriating to such operations any funds which may be 
contributed therefor. 

Amended, Journal, 1903, pp. 4, 22, 207. 

Canon XI, 1850. Amended, 1853, 1872, 1873, 1886, 1896, 1903. 

CANON IX. 

Of the Archdeaconries of the Diocese. 

Section 1. For the prosecution of its Missionary Work the Dio- 
cese shall be divided into four Archdeaconries, as follows : 



16 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



First. The City of Baltimore, to be known as the Archdeaconry 
of Baltimore. 

Second. The Counties of Baltimore, Harford and Carroll, to be 
known as the Archdeaconry of Towson. 

Third. The Counties of Howard, Anne Arundel and Calvert, to 
ibe known as the Archdeaconry of Annapolis. 

Fourth. The Counties of Frederick, Washington, Allegany and 
Garrett, to be known as the Archdeaconry of Cumberland. 

Sec. 2. The Archdeaconries shall be organized under the direc- 
tion of the Bishop, who shall preside in them when present. In the 
absence of the Bishop, the Bishop-Coadjutor, if any, shall preside 
when present. Each Archdeaconry shall have an Archdeacon to 
be appointed annually at the first meeting in each year by the Bishop, 
with the approval of the Archdeaconry. He shall perform such 
duties as may be appointed him by the Bishop or Archdeaconry, and 
shall report to the Convention, through the Bishop, at each Annual 
Session, concerning the Missionary Work in his Archdeaconry. 

Sec. 3. Each Archdeaconry shall meet at least twice each year. 
Its membership shall consist of the Clergy residing within its limits, 
who have seats in the Convention of the Diocese or are engaged in 
pastoral work, and of at least one Lay Delegate from each Parish, 
separate Congregation or Mission ; provided that each Parish, sepa- 
rate Congregation or [Mission may elect as many Lay Delegates as it 
has Lay Delegates to the Diocesan Convention. The Lay Delegates 
shall be communicants, and shall be elected annually by the Vestries 
of their respective Parishes or Congregations, or in failure of an 
election, or where there is no Vestry, they shall be appointed by the 
Minister in charge. 

Sec. 4. Each Archdeaconry shall elect annually one of its Lay- 
men to be a member of the Committee of Missions of the Diocese. 

Sec. 5. Each Archdeaconry shall take order to inform itself of 
the religious needs of its own district; and shall devise means for 
increasing interest in Missions ; it shall under the advice of the 
Bishop administer the Missionary Work within its own limits ; it 
shall have control and distribution of the money which may be 
allotted to it by the Committee of Missions ; it shall apportion among 
its several Parishes, Congregations and Missions the amount of 
money which may be desired of it by said Committee ; it may at its 
discretion, with the approval of the Bishop, undertake special Mis- 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



17 



sionary Work and raise funds for such purposes, provided it shall 
first have complied with the requirements of the Committee of 
Missions. 

Canons of 1874, 1897, 1903. 

CANON X. 

Of the Support of Ministers. 

Whereas, It is enjoined that the Minister of the Gospel shall live 
of the Gospel, and it is the right and duty of every parishioner or 
member of a Congregation to contribute his or her share to the 
support of the Ministry, as God hath given ability ; and whereas, it is 
the business of the Vestry of each Parish or Congregation to take 
care for the fulfillment of the Divine command, by the diligence of 
the people : It shall be the duty of the Vestry of each Parish or Con- 
gregation to provide, by taking care for the gathering of offerings 
in Divine service, except the alms at Holy Communion, or by the 
procurement and collection of subscriptions or of pew-rents by com- 
mittees or otherwise, for the payment of the amount stipulated for 
the support of the Rector or Minister or Ministers quarterly in ad- 
vance ; or at such intervals and on such conditions as may be stipu- 
lated and agreed upon by the Vestry and Rector, or Minister or 
Ministers. 

Canons of 1850, ,1856, 1872, 1873, 1900. 

CANON XL 
Of the Permanent Clerical Sustentation Fund. 

There shall be established, under the sanction of this Convention 
and be held by it, a Fund to be entitled "The Permanent Clerical 
Sustentation Fund." Until otherwise directed, this Fund shall be 
administered by the Trustees of Church Charities; and the income 
shall be allowed to accumulate until it shall amount yearly to at least 
one thousand dollars. From and after that time the yearly income 
shall be paid over to the Committee of Missions of the Diocese for 
Pastoral Aid, and any surplus over what may be required for that 
purpose shall be expended for the establishment and maintenance 
of Mission Stations within the Diocese. 

Canon, 1875. Journal, p. 62. 



18 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND, 
OF CLERICAL DISCIPLINE. 



CANON XII. 
Of the mode of instituting Proceedings against Clergymen. 

Whenever the Bishop shall, either from his own observation or 
from any information which he shall deem worthy of notice, have 
reason to believe that there are grounds for an investigation into 
the conduct of any Priest or Deacon of this Diocese, for having 
been guilty of offences for which he is liable to be tried according to 
Canon 22 of the General Convention, he may, in his discre- 
tion, convene the Standing Committee and lay before them the 
information in his possession. And whenever the Standing 
Committee, or a majority of them, shall, from any information 
so laid before them by the Bishop or from any other information 
which they or a majority of them may think worthy of notice, be of 
opinion that it is proper that a judicial investigation of the conduct 
of any Priest or Deacon should take place, they shall present that 
fact to the Bishop, with such a general statement of the facts of the 
case as may serve for a ground work upon which charges may be 
drawn. It shall be the duty of the Bishop upon the receipt of such 
presentment, to cause the charge or charges to be drawn up in such, 
form as will, with reasonable certainty, give to the accused notice 
of the particular matters charged as offences. The style of charge, 
or charges, shall be, "Articles, or charges, against , ex- 
hibited on behalf of the Church, to the Bishop of the Diocese of 
Maryland, by , acting as Church Advocate, in conse- 
quence of a presentment made to the said Bishop, by the Standing 
Committee of the said Diocese." 

Canons of 1788, 1790, 1800, 1801, 1835, 1847; 1859, 1862, 1873. 

CANONS XIII. 

Of Advocates and of Parties. 

Whenever it shall be determined to bring to trial any Clergyman, 
the Bishop shall appoint one person as Church Advocate, whose duty 
it shall be to prepare the charges and conduct the trial, on the part 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 19 

of the Church. It shall also be his duty to reduce the charges into 
form. He shall conduct the case with a single eye to eliciting the 
truth and shall regard himself as much bound to protect the inter- 
ests of the accused as those of the Church. The Church Advocate 
shall be considered the party on the one side, and the accused on the 
other. The accused shall have a right to call in any one person, 
whom he may choose, to assist him. 

Canon XXII, 1835. Amended, 1847, 1873. 

CANON XIV. 

Of Ecclesiastical Courts. 

There shall be an Ecclesiastical Court for the Diocese of Mary- 
land, to try such charges as may be preferred against any Priest or 
Deacon of said Diocese. It shall be composed of seven Presbyters, 
not members of the Standing Committee. They shall be appointed 
by the Bishop, by and with the advice and consent of the majority 
of the Diocesan Convention, during the present Convention [1847], 
and biennially thereafter, and shall continue in office until others 
shall have been chosen in their places, unless sooner removed by a 
vote of the Convention. The Bishop, by and with the advice and 
consent of the majority of the Convention, shall have power to fill 
all vacancies which may occur by such removal or by death, resig- 
nation, removal from the Diocese, or election into the Episcopate 
or Standing Committee ; Provided, That whenever any vacancy oc- 
curs from any of the aforesaid causes, in the interval between the 
sessions of the Convention, the Bishop shall have power to fill the 
same, until the meeting of the next Convention. Whenever a 
charge or charges against any Priest or Deacon of this Diocese shall 
have been reduced to writing by the Church Advocate, agreeably to 
the provisions of the Canons, it shall be his duty to deliver to the 
Bishop two copies of the same, signed with his own hand. It shall 
then be the duty of the Bishop to transmit one of the said copies to 
the accused, together with notice of the time and place of trial, both 
of which the Bishop shall prescribe. The charges and notice shall 
be delivered to the accused, or left at his place of abode, at least 
thirty days before the time appointed for the trial. The Bishop 
shall also issue a precept, directed to all the members of the Ecclesi- 
astical Court, requiring them or any five or more of them, to pro- 



20 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



ceed to the trial of the accused at the prescribed time and place, 
which precept, together with another copy of the charges, signed by 
the Church Advocate, shall be transmitted by the Bishop to the 
President of the Court, whose duty it shall be, upon receipt of the 
same, to cause all the members of the Court to be summoned to 
meet at the prescribed time and place. Any five of them who shall 
attend, in pursuance of such summons, shall constitute the Court. 
It shall be the duty of the members of the Court to convene, imme- 
diately after the election, at a time and place to be appointed by the 
Bishop and elect, from their own body, a President and Secretary. 
It shall be the duty of the Secretary, within five days after such elec- 
tion and after every change in the office of President, to notify the 
Bishop of the name of the person chosen President. 

Canons of 1788, 1807, 1835, 1847, 1871. 

CANON XV. 

Provisions relative to Discipline, during a vacancy in the 
Episcopal Office. 

In case of a vacancy in the Episcopal Office, the President of the 
Convention, for the time being, shall have and exercise all the pow- 
ers relating to discipline, given to the Bishop by the Canons, except 
such as belong exclusively to the Episcopal Order. 

If the President of the Convention shall himself be the person 
accused, any two members of the Standing Committee may apply 
to any Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States, to exercise the powers of the Bishop of Maryland in the 
particular case, and the Standing Committee shall take the canon- 
ical steps for the trial of the accused under the direction of such 
Bishop. 

Canons of 1800, 1835, 1847. 

CANON XVI. 

Of the Trial of Clergymen. 

Upon the trial of any Clergyman upon any charge or charges, 
both parties shall have a right to summon witnesses and have rea- 
sonable delay, if necessary in the opinion of the Court, to obtain 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



21 



their attendance ; and both parties may take depositions, to be used 
at the trial, after giving to the other reasonable notice of the time 
and place of taking the same. No accused Clergyman shall be con- 
victed of any offence, except upon the oath of two credible wit- 
nesses, or upon the oath of one witness whose testimony is corrobo- 
rated by pregnant circumstances. 

All testimony shall be upon oath, which shall be administered by 
the President of v the Court. 

All spectators shall be excluded except the Clergy of the Diocese 
and the Vestry of the Parish or Congregation with which the ac- 
cused is connected, and such of the relations and friends of the ac- 
cused as to the Court may appear proper. The presence of a ma- 
jority of the members of the Court shall be requisite to the 
transaction of any business connected with the trial, and on the final 
question, whether the accused is guilty or not, no member shall be 
permitted to vote or considered present who shall not have been 
present at the delivery of all the testimony during the whole trial 
and of the defence of the accused, if he have made any. Unless a 
majority of the members of the Court, entitled to vote on the final 
question of whether the accused is guilty or not, shall vote that he is 
guilty, he shall be acquitted. And in no case shall he be found 
guilty unless at least three members of the Court vote for his con- 
viction. 

Canon IX, 1788. Amended, 1807, 1809, 1835, 1847, 1873. 

CANON XVII. 
Of the mode of Compelling the Appearance of an Accused 

Clergyman. 

If any Clergyman, accused of any offence, shall neglect to attend 
at the time and place appointed for the meeting of the Court which 
is convened to try him, after due notice given to him, the Court 
shall report the fact to the Bishop, who shall suspend such Clergy- 
man from the Ministry for contumacy, until he shall appear and 
demand a trial. If he apply to the Bishop, within six months from 
the day on which the sentence of suspension shall have been pro- 
nounced, for a trial, a Court shall be convened and the trial proceed 
in the manner provided for in the Canons. If he shall not apply 
for a trial within six months, the Bishop shall pronounce sentence 
of degradation from the Ministry, for contumacy. 

Canon XXII, 1835. Canon XI, 1847. 



22 



CAXOXS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 
CAXOX XVIII. 



Of Clergymen who shall be Charged with renouncing the Minis- 
try, or separating themselves from the Communion of the 
Church, and shall neglect to answer such charge. 
If any Clergyman shall be charged with wilfully discontinuing, 
without lawful cause, the Ministry of this Church, or with sepa- 
rating himself from her Communion and shall, after having been 
canonically notified of the time and place of trial, neglect to ap- 
pear at such time and place, it shall be lawful for the Court, if 
they think proper to do so, to hear the case in his absence ; and, 
if the majority shall find him guilty, to report to the Bishop, as if 
he had appeared, whereupon the Bishop shall proceed to pass sen- 
tence. 

Canon XII, 1847. 

CAXOX XIX. 

Of Ecclesiastical Sentences. 

If the accused, after canonical trial, shall be found guilty by a 
canonical majority, the opinion of the Court, together with all 
their proceedings, including all the testimony taken in the case, shall 
be transmitted to the Bishop before it is transmitted to the accused 
or in any way made public. The Court shall also declare to the 
Bishop the punishment, which, in their opinion, the offence or 
offences deserve. Should he concur in opinion with the Court, he 
may proceed to reprove, suspend or degrade, as the offence may be 
thought by him to deserve ; Ahvays provided, That he shall inflict no 
punishment beyond that recommended by the Court. 

Canon IX, 1788. Amended, 1801, 1835. 1847. 

CAXOX XX. ' 

Of the Promulgation of Ecclesiastical Sentences. 

All sentences of reproof, suspension, or degradation, shall be pro- 
nounced by the Bishop. A copy of a sentence of suspension shall 
be sent to the accused and another to the Vestry or Vestries of the 
Parish or Parishes, or Congregation or Congregations, with which 
he may be canonically connected, and such other publicity may be 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESB OF MARYLAND. 



23 



given to it as the Bishop may think expedient. A sentence of degra- 
dation shall be made known in the manner directed by Canon 31 of 
the General Convention of 1904. 

Canon XII, 1835. Amended, 1847. 

CANON XXI. 

Provision for Pronouncing Sentence on Clergymen, during a 
Vacancy in the Episcopal Office. 

In case any Clergyman who shall have been duly notified of the 
time and place fixed for his trial, shall have neglected to appear or 
been canonically found guilty of any charge, the Court may transmit 
their report in the case of contumacy, or in case of conviction, their 
opinion, with the testimony and other proceedings, to the Bishop of 
some other Diocese, who shall be requested, and is hereby authorized, 
to act thereon and proceed in the same manner as he would be au- 
thorized to do were he the Bishop of this Diocese. 

Canon XX, 1835. Amended, 1847. 



REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE LAITY. 



CANON XXII. 

Communicants to have Family Worship. 

It shall be the duty of every Communicant in this Church, who is 
the head of a family, to live in the daily exercise of family worship. 

Canon XVII, 1801. Amended, 1835, 1847. 

CANON XXIII. 

The Members of this Church to instruct their families in the 
principles of Religion. 

The members of this Church shall instruct their families, as far 
as they are able, in the principles of the Christian religion and shall 
cause their children to attend the catechetical instructions of their 
Rector ; and as soon as they are sufficiently informed and impress- 
ed with the importance and sacredness of their baptismal vow, they 



24 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



shall present them to the Rector as candidates for Confirmation; 
who shall examine them and, if satisfied of their fitness, recom- 
mend them to the Bishop for Confirmation. 

Canon XVIII, 1801. Amended, 1835, 1847. 



MISCELLANEOUS CANONS. 



CANON XXIV. 
Of Parish Registers. 

Whereas, By Canon 15 of the General Convention it is required 
that "It shall be the duty of every Minister of this Church to record 
in the Parish Register all Baptisms, Confirmations, Communicants, 
Marriages and Funerals within his Cure," it is hereby made the 
duty of the Vestry of each , Parish or Church, to provide a 
suitable and substantial book, which book shall be the "Par- 
ish Register," which shall be kept by the Minister of the Par- 
ish or Church, and left, upon his death or removal, for the use 
of his successor. It shall be the duty of every Minister, in making 
the records, to specify the name and date of birth of each child 
baptized, with the names of the parents and sponsors ; the name of 
the adult baptized and the witnesses ; also the name of the officiating 
Minister; the names of the persons confirmed, and the name of the 
Bishop who performed the rite ; the names of the Communicants in 
the Parish or Congregation, with the incidents of removal, death or 
discipline; the names of the parties married and the name of the 
officiating Minister; the names and ages of the persons buried, as 
also the time when, and place where each rite was performed. 

Every Minister shall also make out and continue, as far as 
practicable, a list of all the families and adult persons within his 
cure. 

Canons I. II, III, IV, 1790. Amended, 1835, 1873. 

CANON XXV. 

Of the Standing Committee. 

Whereas, By Article IV of the Constitution of the General Con- 
vention it is required that "In every Diocese shall be a Standing 
Committee, appointed by the Convention thereof," therefore, in 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



25 



addition to the Canons of the General Convention, and the 
provision of the 9th Article of the Constitution of the Dio- 
cese of Maryland touching Standing Committees, it is hereby 
declared that the Bishop shall have power to call special meet- 
ings of the Standing Committees at such times and places as 
may appear to him to be necessary and expedient ; and also, that 
if from any cause, the Annual Convention should not be held at 
the appointed time or if such Convention should be held but no elec- 
tion be made, then the last Standing Committee elected shall con- 
tinue to perform the duties of the office until a new election takes 
place. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of this Committee to 
keep a faithful record of all its proceedings ; which record, together 
with all records in their hands, relative to the Church, shall be sub- 
ject to the examination of the Bishop. They shall annually make 
a report to the Convention of their official acts. 

Canon XXIX, 1847. Amended, 1873. Last two sentences added 1876, 
Journal, pp. 50, 51. 

CANON XXVI. 

Of Vacant Parishes or Congregations. 

Section 1. When a Parish or Congregation becomes vacant, it 
shall be the duty of the Vestry forthwith to give notice thereof to the 
Bishop or, if there be no Bishop, to the President of the Standing 
Committee. 

Sec. 2. It shall also be the duty of the Vestry to make suitable 
provision for the due and regular performance of Divine Services 
and for such ministerial acts as may be required during the 
vacancy. Should the Vestry fail, through neglect or inability, for 
the space of one calendar month, to make such provision, it shall 
then be the duty of the Bishop or, if there be no Bishop, of the 
President of the Standing Committee, to take such order for the 
temporary supply as in each case may be practicable; and it shall 
be the duty of the Vestry of the Parish or Congregation thus 
supplied to defray the reasonable expenses thus incurred. 

Canons of 1800, 1812, 1835, 1847, 1848, 1888. See Journal 1888, p. 18, for 
present Canon. 



26 



CAXOXS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAXD. 



CAXON XXVII. 
Informal Ballots for Election of Bishop. 

Before proceeding to the election of a Bishop in this Diocese, 
and after opportunity for nomination has been afforded, there 
shall be three informal ballots by the Clergy and the Laity, voting 
concurrently, and the votes shall be reported by tellers for each 
Order, as in the case of elections under the provisions of the 
Rules of Order. 

Journal 1900, pp. 13, 19. 

CAXOX XXVIII. 
Of the Deputies to the General Convention. 

Section 1. At the Annual Convention immediately preceding the 
meeting of the General Convention there shall be elected, by ballot, 
four Clerical and four Lay Deputies to said General Convention, 
who shall receive a majority of the votes of the Convention. 

Sec. 2. Immediately after the election of said Deputies, there 
shall be elected by ballot four Clerical and four Lay Alternate 
Deputies. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Convention 
at least one month before the session of the General Convention 
to notify each of the Deputies elected, to signify to him, at least 
one week before the session of the General Convention, his ac- 
ceptance of the election and appointment, and of his intention to 
perform the duties of such office; and in default of receiving such 
notice frorn any one or more Deputies, the Secretary of the Conven- 
tion shall designate and certify from the list of persons elected as 
Alternate Deputies such persons as may be necessary to secure a 
full attendance of the Deputies of each Order from this Diocese 
at the next ensuing session of the General Convention. 

And should a deficiency in such attendance occur in any way 
thereafter or during a session of the General Convention, the 
Secretary of the Convention, on receiving notice thereof, shall 
designate and certify from the list of persons elected as Alternate 
Deputies such persons as may be necessary to secure a full at- 
tendance of the Deputies of each Order from this Diocese at the 
next ensuing or pending session of the General Convention. 

And the persons thus designated by the Secretary of the Con- 



CANONS OF THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. 



27 



vention, when furnished by the Secretary of this Convention with 
a certificate of such designation, shall have all the power and 
authority of Deputies duly elected as such by the Convention of 
this Diocese. 

Provided, hozvever, That such designation from such list of Alter- 
nate Deputies shall be made, beginning with that person of the Order 
among whose members such deficiency may have occurred, who 
shall have received the highest number of votes cast for persons 
in that order ; and designations afterwards shall be made in suc- 
cession from those receiving the next higher number of votes in 
such order. 

Sec. 4. In case of the absence or inability to act of the Secretary 
of the Convention, the person who acted as Assistant Secretary at 
that session of the Convention at which the election of Deputies 
to the General Convention was had shall discharge the duties in 
this Canon assigned to such Secretary of the Convention. 

Canon, 1892. 



SELECTED CANONS 

OF THE 

GENERAL CONVENTION 



o 

CAXOX 14. 

Of the Filling of Vacant Cures. 

§ L When a Parish or Congregation becomes vacant the 
Churchwardens or other proper officers shall notify the fact to the 
Bishop. If the authorities of the Parish shall for thirty days have 
failed to make provision for the services, it shall be the duty of the 
Bishop to take such measures as he may deem expedient for the 
temporary maintenance of Divine services therein. 

§ II. Xo election of a Rector shall be had until the name of the 
Clergyman whom it is proposed to elect has been made known to 
the Bishop, if there be one, and sufficient time, not exceeding thirty 
days, has been given to him to communicate with the Vestry 
thereon. 

§ III. Written notice of the election, signed by the Church- 
wardens, shall be sent to the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese. 
If the Ecclesiastical Authority be satisfied that the person so 
chosen is a duly qualified Minister, and that he has accepted the 
office, the notice shall be sent to the Secretary of the Convention, 
who shall record it. And such record shall be sufficient evidence 
of the relation between the Minister and the Parish. 

§ IV. A Minister is settled, for all purposes here or else- 
where mentioned in these Canons, who has been engaged perma- 
nently by any Parish, according to the rules of said Diocese, or 
for any term not less than one year. 

CAXOX 15. 

Of Ministers and Their Duties. 

§ I. [i.] The control of the worship and the spiritual juris- 
diction of the Parish are vested in the Rector, subject to the Rubrics 
of the Book of Common Prayer, the Canons of the Church, and 



CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 



29 



the godly counsel of the Bishop. All other Ministers of the Parish, 
by whatever name they may be designated, are to be regarded as 
under the authority of the Rector. 

[ii.] For the purposes of his office, and for the full and free 
discharge of all functions and duties pertaining thereto, the Rector 
shall, at all times, be entitled to the use and control of the Church 
and Parish buildings, with the appurtenances and furniture there- 
of. 

[iii.] In a Missionary Cure the control and responsibility be- 
long to the priest who has been duly appointed to the charge there- 
of, subject to the authority of the Bishop. 

§ II. [i.] It shall be the duty of Ministers of this Church who 
have charge of Parishes or Cures to be diligent in instructing the 
children in the Catechism, and from time to time to examine 
them in the same publicly before the Congregation. They shall 
also, by stated catechetical lectures and instruction, inform the 
youth and others in the Doctrines, Polity, History, and Liturgy 
of the Church. They shall also instruct all persons in their Parishes 
and Cures concerning the missionary work of the Church at home 
and abroad, and give suitable opportunities for offerings to main- 
tain that work. 

[ii.] It shall be the duty of Ministers to prepare young persons 
and others for Confirmation ; and on notice being received from the 
Bishop of his intention to visit any Church, which notice shall be at 
least one month before the intended visitation, the Minister shall 
announce the fact to the Congregation on the first Sunday after the 
receipt of such notice ; and he shall be ready to present for Confirma- 
tion such persons as he shall judge to be qualified, and shall deliver 
to the Bishop a list of the names of those to be confirmed. 

[iii.] At every visitation it shall be the duty of the Ministers, 
and of the Churchwardens, or Vestrymen, or of some other officer, 
to exhibit to the Bishop the Parish Register and to give information 
to him of the state of the Congregation, spiritual and temporal, 
under such heads as shall have been previously signified to them, 
in writing, by the Bishop. 

[iv.] The Alms and Contributions, not otherwise specifically 
designated, at the Administration of the Holy Communion on one 
Sunday in each calendar month, and other offerings for the poor, 
shall be deposited with the Minister of the Parish, or with such 
Church officer as shall be appointed by him, to be applied by the 
Minister, or under his superintendence, to such pious and charitable 
uses as shall by him be thought fit. During a vacancy the Vestry 
shall appoint a responsible person to serve as Almoner. 

[v.] Every Minister having a pastoral charge shall read to his 
Congregation on some occasion of public worship on a Lord's Day, 
not later than one month after the receipt of the same, the Pastoral 



30 



CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 



Letter of the House of Bishops, issued in accordance with the 
Canons. 

§ III [i.] It shall be the duty of every Minister of this Church 
to record in the Parish Register all Baptisms, Confirmations, Mar- 
riages, Burials, and the names of all Communicants within his 
Cure. 

[ii.] The registry of every Baptism shall be signed by the offic- 
iating Minister. 

[iii.] Every Minister of this Church shall make out and continue, 
as far as practicable, a list of all families and adult persons within 
his Cure, to remain in the Parish for the use of his successor. 

§ IV. [i.] No Minister of this Church shall officiate, either by 
preaching, reading prayers in public worship, or by performing 
any other priestly or ministerial function, in the Parish, or within 
the Cure, of another Minister, without the consent of the Minister 
of that Parish or Cure; or of one of its Churchwardens, if, in his 
absence or disability, the Minister fail to provide for the stated 
services of such Parish or Cure. 

If there be two or more Congregations or Churches in one Cure, 
as provided by Canon 50, Section III. [ii.], the consent of the ma- 
jority of the Ministers of such Congregations or Churches, or of 
the Bishop, shall be sufficient ; Provided, That nothing in this section 
shall be construed to prevent any Clergyman of this Church from 
officiating, with the consent of a Minister, in the Church or place of 
public worship used by the Congregation of such Minister, or in 
private for members of his Congregation ; or, in his absence, with 
the consent of the Churchwardens or Trustees of such Congrega- 
tion ; and Provided, moreover, That the license of the Ecclesiastical 
Authority required in § V. [iii.] be first obtained when necessary. 

This rule shall not apply to any Church, Chapel, or Oratory, 
which is part of the premises of an incorporated institution, created 
by legislative authority; Provided, That such place of worship is 
designed and set apart for the convenience and uses of such institu- 
tion, and not as a place for public or parochial worship. 

[ii.] If any Minister of this Church, from disability or any 
other cause, neglect to perform the regular services in his Congre- 
gation, and refuse, without good cause, his consent to any other 
duly qualified Minister of this Church to officiate within his Cure, 
the Churchwardens, Vestrymen, or Trustees of the Congregation 
shall, on proof before the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese 
or Missionary District of such neglect or refusal, have power, with 
the written consent of the said Authority, to permit any duly quali- 
fied Minister of this Church to officiate. 

§ V. [i.] A Minister of this Church removing into a Diocese or 
Missionary District shall, in order to gain canonical residence with- 
in the same, present to the Ecclesiastical Authority thereof a testi- 
monial from the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese or Mission- 



CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 



31 



ary District- in which he last had canonical residence, which testi- 
monial shall set forth his true standing and character. The said 
testimonial shall be given by the Ecclesiastical Authority to the ap- 
plicant, and a duplicate thereof may be sent to the Ecclesiastical 
Authority of the Diocese or Missionary District to which he pro- 
poses to remove. The testimonial may be in the following words : 
I hereby certify that the Reverend A. B., who has signified to 
me his desire to be transferred to the Ecclesiastical Authority of 

is a Presbyter [or Deacon] of 
in good standing, and has not, so far as I know or believe, been 
justly liable to evil report, for error in religion or for viciousness 
of life, for three years last past. 

(Signed) 

[ii.] Such testimonial shall be called Letters Dimissory. The 
canonical residence of the Minister so transferred shall date from 
the acceptance of his Letters Dimissory, of which prompt notice 
shall be given both to the applicant and to the Ecclesiastical Author- 
ity from which it came. 

[iii.] Letters Dimissory not presented within six months from 
the date of their transmission to the applicant shall become wholly 
void. No Minister shall officiate more than two months in any 
Diocese or Missionary District other than that in which he is canoni- 
cally resident, without a license from the Ecclesiastical Authority. 

[iv.] If a Minister, removing* into another Diocese, who has 
been called to a Cure in a Parish or Congregation, shall present 
Letters Dimissory in the form above given, it shall be the duty of 
the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese to which he has removed 
to accept them within three months, unless the Bishop or Standing 
Committee shall have heard rumors which he or they believe to 
be well founded, against the character of the Minister concerned y 
which would form a proper ground of canonical inquiry and pre- 
sentment, in which case the Ecclesiastical Authority shall communi- 
cate the same to the Bishop or Standing Committee of the Diocese 
to whose jurisdiction the said Minister belongs; and, in such case, 
it shall not be the duty of the Ecclesiastical Authority to accept 
the Letters Dimissory unless and until the Minister shall be excul- 
pated from the said charge- 

[v.] No Minister, removing from one Diocese or Missionary 
District to another, shall officiate as Rector or Minister of any Parish 
or Congregation of the Diocese or District to which he removes, 
until he shall have obtained from the Ecclesiastical Authority there- 
of a certificate in the words following: 

I hereby certify that the Reverend A. B. has been canonically 
transferred to my jurisdiction and is a Minister in good standing. 

(Signed) 

[vi.] No person who has been refused Ordination or reception 
as a Candidate in any Diocese or Missionary District, and who has 



32 



CANONS OF THE GEXERAL CONVENTION. 



afterwards been ordained in another Diocese or Missionary District, 
shall be transferred to the Diocese or Missionary District in which 
such refusal has taken place without the consent of its Bishop or 
^Ecclesiastical Authority. 

CAXOX 17. 

Of Ministers Ordained in Foreign Countries by Bishops in 
Communion with this Church. 

§ I. [i.] A Minister who alleges that he has been ordained be- 
yond the limits of the United States by a foreign Bishop in com- 
munion with this Church, or by a Bishop consecrated for a foreign 
country by Bishops of this Church under Article III. of the Con- 
stitution, or by a Missionary Bishop elected to exercise jurisdiction 
beyond the limits of the United States, shall, before he be permitted 
to officiate in any Parish or Congregation of this Church, exhibit 
to the Minister, or, if there be no Minister, to the Vestry thereof, 
a certificate of recent date, signed by the Ecclesiastical Authority 
of the Diocese or Missionary District, that his letters of Holy 
Orders and other credentials are valid and authentic, and given by 
a Bishop in communion with this Church, and whose authority is 
acknowledged by this Church, and also that he has exhibited to the 
said Ecclesiastical Authority satisfactory evidence of his moral and 
godly character, and of his theological acquirements. 

[ii.] And before he shall be permitted to take charge of any 
Parish or Congregation, or be received into any Diocese or Mis- 
sionary District of this Church as a Minister thereof, he shall pro- 
duce to the Ecclesiastical Authority Letters Dimissory or equivalent 
credentials under the hand and seal of the Bishop with whose Dio- 
cese or Missionary District he has been last connected, which letters 
or credentials shall be delivered within six months from the date 
thereof. Before such Minister shall be so received, the Bishop shall 
require him to promise in w r riting to submit himself in all things 
to the discipline of this Church, without recourse to any foreign 
jurisdiction, civil or ecclesiastical; and shall further require him to 
subscribe and make in his presence, and in the presence of two or 
more Presbyters, the declaration required in Article VIII. of the 
Constitution. 

After which the said Ecclesiastical Authority, being satisfied of 
his theological acquirements, may receive him into the Diocese or 
Missionary District as a Minister of this Church: Provided, That 
such Minister shall not be entitled to hold canonical charge in any 
Parish or Congregation, until he shall ■ have resided one year in 
the United States subsequent to the acceptance of his credentials. 

§11. If such Minister be a Deacon, he shall not.be ordered 
Priest until he shall have resided in the United States at least one 
year. 



CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 33 



CANON 20. 
Of Deaconesses. 

§ I. A woman of devout character and proved fitness, un- 
married or widowed, may be appointed Deaconess by any Bishop 
of this Church. Such appointment shall be vacated by marriage. 

§ II. The duty of a Deaconess is to assist the Minister in the 
care of the poor and sick, the religious training of the young 
and others, and the work of moral reformation. 

§ III. No woman shall be appointed Deaconess until she shall 
be at least twenty-three years of age, nor until she shall have laid 
before the Bishop testimonials certifying that she is a communicant 
of this Church in good standing, and that she possesses such 
characteristics as, in the judgment of the persons testifying, fit her 
for at least one of the duties above defined. The testimonial of fit- 
ness shall be signed by two Presbyters of this Church, and by twelve 
lay communicants of the same, six of whom shall be women. The 
Bishop shall also satisfy himself that the applicant has had an ade- 
quate preparation for her work, both technical and religious, which 
preparation shall have covered the period of two years. 

§ IV. No Deaconess shall accept work in a Diocese without the 
express authority, in writing, of the Bishop of that Diocese; nor 
shall she undertake work in a Parish without the like authority 
from the Rector of the Parish. 

§ V. When not connected with a Parish the Deaconess shall 
be under the direct oversight of the Bishop of the Diocese in which 
she is canonically resident. A Deaconess may be transferred from 
one Diocese to another by Letters Testimonial. 

§ VI. A Deaconess may at any time resign her office to the 
Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese in which she is at the time 
canonically resident, but she may not be suspended or removed 
from office except by the Bishop for cause, with the consent of the 
Standing Committee, and after a hearing before the Bishop and 
the Standing Committee. 

§ VII. No woman shall be recognized as a Deaconess until she 
has been set apart for that office by an appropriate religious service, 
to be prescribed by the General Convention, or, in the absence of 
such prescription, by the Bishop. 



CANON 21. 

Of Lay Readers. 

§ I. A competent person ready and desirous to serve the Church 
in the public services statedly as a Lay Reader must procure from 
the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese or Mission- 



84 



CANONS OF THE GEXBRAL CONVENTION. 



ary District a written license. Such license shall not be granted 
to any but a male communicant of this Church, and must be given 
for a definite period, not longer than one year, but may be renewed 
from time to time, or revoked at any time. Such license may be 
given for any vacant Parish or Mission, or for a Congregation with- 
out a Minister, but where a Presbyter is in charge, his request and 
recommendation must have been previously signified to the Eccle- 
siastical Authority. A license shall not be granted for conducting 
the service in a Congregation without a Minister, which is able and 
has had reasonable opportunity to secure the services of an ordained 
Minister. If the Lay Reader be a student in any Theological Semi- 
nary, he shall also, before acting as such, obtain the permission of 
the presiding officer of such institution and of his own Bishop. 

§ II. A Lay Reader shall be subject to the regulations prescribed 
by the Ecclesiastical Authority, and shall not serve in any Diocese 
other than that in which he is licensed, unless he shall have received 
a license from the Bishop of the Diocese in which he desires to 
serve. 

§ III. In all matters relating to the conduct of the service, and 
to the Sermons or Homilies to be read, he shall conform to the 
directions of the Minister in charge of the Parish, Congregation, or 
Mission in which he is serving, and, in all cases, to the directions 
of the Bishop. He shall read only the Morning and Evening 
Prayer (omitting the Absolution), the Litany, and the Office for 
the Burial of the Dead. He shall not deliver sermons or addresses 
of his own composition, unless, after instruction and examination, 
he be specially licensed thereto for urgent needs by the Bishop. He 
shall not wear the dress appropriate to Clergymen ministering in the 
Congregation. 

CANON 43. 

Of the Due Celebration of Sundays. 

All persons within this Church shall celebrate and keep the Lord's 
Day, commonly called Sunday, by regular participation in the public 
worship of the Church, by hearing the Word of God read and taught, 
and by other acts of devotion and works of charity, using all godly 
and sober conversation. 

CANON 44. 

Of the Music of the Church. 

It shall be the duty of every Minister to appoint for use in his 
Congregation hymns or anthems from those authorized by the 
Rubric, and, with such assistance as he may see fit to employ from 
persons skilled in music, to give order concerning the tunes to be 
sung in his Church. It shall be his especial duty to suppress all 
light and unseemly music, and all irreverence in the performance. 



CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 



35 



CANON 47. 

Of the. Mode of Securing an accurate View of the 
State of This Church. 

§ I. It shall be the duty of every Minister of this Church in 
charge of a Parish or Congregation, or, if there be no Minister in 
charge, of the Churchwardens, or other proper officer, to deliver, 
on or before the first day of every annual Convention, to the Bishop 
of the Diocese, or, where there is no Bishop, to the Presiding Officer 
of the Convention, a report of the number of Baptisms, Confirma- 
tions, Marriages and Burials, and the number of Communicants 
in the Parish or Congregation ; of the condition of the Sunday- 
schools ; of all contributions for parochial purposes, for charities, 
for Missions, Diocesan, Domestic or Foreign, or for any purpose 
whatever ; and of other matters that may throw light upon the state 
of the Parish or Congregation. And every Minister not in charge 
of any Parish or Congregation shall also report his occasional 
services ; and if there have been none, the causes or reasons which 
have prevented the same. And these reports, or such parts of them 
as the Bishop may deem proper, shall be entered in the Journal. 

§ II. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Convention 
of every Diocese or Missionary District to forward to the Secre- 
tary of the House of Deputies, on or before the first day of each 
regular meeting of the General Convention, the Journals of the Con- 
ventions or Convocations of the Diocese or Missionary District since 
the last regular meeting of the General Convention, together with 
such other papers including Episcopal Charges, Statements and 
Pastoral Letters, as may tend to throw light upon the state of the 
Church in the Diocese or Missionary District. It shall also be his 
duty to prepare, immediately after the adjournment of the Diocesan 
Convention, or the Convocation of a Missionary District, next pre- 
ceding the regular meeting of every General Convention, a list of 
the Ministers canonically resident therein, and of persons who, 
since the previous regular meeting of the General Convention, have 
been ordered Deacons or Priests, and of Ministers who have died, 
and of persons suspended or deposed from the Sacred Ministry; 
and also a condensed report and a tabular review of the state of the 
Church in the said Diocese or Missionary District, comprising a 
summary of the statistics from the parochial reporfs and from the 
Bishop's Statements, specifying, as far as possible, the statistics 
of all institutions of education or charity in any way connected with 
the Church within the Diocese or Missionary District, the condition 
of the ecclesiastical funds, and the amount of contributions within 
the Diocese or Missionary District, and of all contributions received 
by the Bishop for Church purposes ; and these documents and 
statistics he shall thereupon forward to the Secretary of the House 



36 



CAXOXS OF THB GBXERAL CONVENTION. 



of Deputies. The Secretary of the House of Deputies shall, as soon 
as may be, present these papers to the House, and a Committee shall 
then be appointed to prepare and present to the House a report on 
the state of the Church, which report, when agreed to by the said 
House, shall be sent to the House of Bishops, with the request that 
they will draw up, and cause to be published, a Pastoral Letter to 
the members of the Church. 

CANON 51. 
Of Parish Vestries. 

§ I. In every Parish of this Church the number, mode of 
election, and term of office of Wardens and Vestrymen, with the 
qualifications of voters, shall be such as the State or Diocesan law 
may permit or require, and the Wardens and Vestrymen elected 
under such law shall hold office until their successors are elected 
and have qualified- 

§ II. Except as provided by the law of the State or of the 
Diocese, the Vestry shall be the agents and legal representatives of 
the Parish in all matters concerning its corporate property and the 
relations of the Parish to its Clergy. 

§ III. Unless it conflict with the law as aforesaid, the Rector, 
when present, shall preside in all the meetings of the Vestry. 



RESOLUTIONS 



PASSED AT VARIOUS TIMES BY 

THE CONVENTION OF MARYLAND, 

AND OTHER KINDRED MATTERS. 



1. Lay Delegates to be residents of the Parishes which they represent. 

Resolved, As the sense of this Convention, for the information and direc- 
tion of the Vestries of this Diocese in future, that the parishioner who may 
be appointed in any Parish as Lay Delegate to this Convention, should always 
be a resident of the Parish from which he is sent. — (1823, p. 16.) 

2. The Episcopal Fund. 

Resolved, That this Convention doth hereby accept of the Act of the General 
Assembly of Maryland, passed at its December session, in tfie year eighteen 
hundred and forty, chapter sixty-seven, entitled, "An Act to incorporate the 
Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, 
for the purposes therein mentioned;" and that a certificate of such acceptance 
be transmitted to the Secretary of State, in the form following: 

"At a Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of 
Maryland, begun and held at the City of Baltimore, on Wednesday, the 26th 
day of May, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-one, being the next 
annual meeting of said Convention held after the passage of an Act of the 
General Assembly of Maryland, passed at December session (in the year 
1840, chapter 67), entitled 'An Act to incorporate the Convention of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland ;' a copy of said Act 
was laid before the said Convention, and upon consideration thereof had, it 
was resolved, by said Convention, that the aforesaid Act of the General Assem- 
bly of Maryland be, and the same is, hereby accepted, and that a certificate 
of the acceptance thereof be filed with the Secretary of State, according to 
the provisions of said Act." 

"In witness whereof the said Convention have caused this act to be signed 
by William R. Whittingham, Bishop of said Diocese and ex officio President 
of said Convention, and sealed with the Episcopal seal of the said William R. 
Whittingham, which is for this purpose adopted by the said Convention as 
its corporate seal, this 28th day of May, in the year 1841." 



38 RBSOLUTIOXS, ETC.. OF COXVEXTIOX OF MARYLAXD. 



Resolved, That, for the purpose of administering "the permanent fund for 
the support of the Episcopate in this Diocese," a Board of Trustees, to consist 
of the Bishop for the time being, and six lay members of this Church, shall 
be appointed; and that, for the election of the said lay members and the 
administration of the said fund, the following rules be adopted : 

1st. This Convention shall, after the passage of these resolutions, proceed 
to ballot for six lay trustees, and the persons having the highest number of 
votes shall be declared elected. 

2d. The trustees, to be elected as aforesaid, shall be distributed by arrange- 
ment amongst the members, into three classes. The first class, consisting of 
the two having the highest number of votes, shall serve until the adjournment 
of the next annual meeting of this Convention. The second class, consisting 
of the two receiving the next highest number of votes, shall serve until the 
adjournment of the second annual meeting of the Convention hereafter; and 
the third class shall serve until the adjournment of the third annual meeting 
of the Convention hereafter ; and, to continue the succession of the Board, the 
Convention, at its next and succeeding annual meetings, shall elect, by ballot, 
trustees in the stead of those whose terms shall have expired. The persons 
thus to be elected, shall serve until the adjournment of the third annual meet- 
ing of the Convention after their election. 

3d. Any vacancy which may happen, by death, resignation, refusal to serve, 
or removal out of the Diocese, may be supplied by appointment, by the 
Board of Trustees, of a suitable person, who shall serve until the next annual 
meeting of the Convention thereafter, which shall elect a trustee to serve 
during the residue of the term of the person in whose stead he shall be 
elected. 

4th. The Board shall meet, on some day prior to the first day of July 
next, to be appointed by the Bishop, and at such times thereafter as the 
Board shall direct; or, upon the requisition of the Bishop, or any two of 
the trustees. A meeting shall likewise be held, on the day next preceding 
the day appointed for the next and succeeding annual meetings of this 
Convention, and at the place at which the Convention shall hold its 
meeting. A majority of the Board shall be a quorum for the transaction of 
business. 

5th. The Board, at its first meeting, and from time to time thereafter, 
shall appoint one of its members to act as Treasurer, who shall continue in 
office until removed by the Board, or until the expiration of his term of 
service as trustee. The Treasurer shall have the custody of the securities 
and moneys belonging to the said fund, subject to such order as the Board 
may take, from time to time, in relation thereto. It shall, likewise, be his 
duty to keep an accurate account of his receipts and disbursements, which 
shall be laid before the Convention, at every meeting. 

6th. ( See infra, Resolutions 13. 21. 57.) 

Tth. The funds raised and to be raised shall be invested in stocks of the 
United States, State of Maryland or City of Baltimore, in ground rents, 
or first mortgages, or fee-simple real estate in the City of Baltimore, or 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 39 



Washington City, or in such registered first mortgage bonds as may be 
approved by the trustees, in their discretion. (As amended 1884, p. 20, and 
1891, p. 18.) 

8th. Every investment shall be made in the name of "The Convention 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland;" and no 
investment so made, shall be transferred or assigned, but by deed under 
seal of the Treasurer of the Board, and of the Bishop or other two mem- 
bers of the Board. 

9th. The Board shall keep a Journal of its proceedings, in which shall 
be entered the attendance of its members, and its acts and resolutions, in 
regard to the administration of said fund ; and on every question, moved 
and decided, the ayes and noes shall be taken and entered, if required 
by any member. This Journal, with a summary report of the proceedings 
of the Board, and the book of accounts of the Treasurer, shall be laid 
before the Convention, at every annual meeting. 

10th. The foregoing rules may be altered, and any one or more of said 
Trustees may be removed, at any time, by a vote of a majority of all the 
members of the Convention. — (1841, pp. 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59.) 

3. Resolutions concerning Congregations and Parishes^ 

1. That the independent congregations, in the country and smaller 
towns, organized under the law of 1802, organize, when practicable, under 
that of 1798, with metes and bounds. 

2. That Vestries make themselves acquainted w T ith the bounds of 
their respective Parishes and cause them to be recorded in their Vestry 
books, if already they be not ; and whenever a new Minister shall be 
appointed by them, that they make him acquainted with such bounda- 
ries, that he may know the territorial extent of his cure and of his field of 
labor. 

3. That every Minister and Vestry are solemnly responsible for looking 
after the spiritual interest of the entire Parish, and providing for the same 
as far as they may.— (1853, p. 10.) 

4. Resolutions respecting the Duty of Churchwardens. 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the Chair to report 
to the next Convention full and proper information as to the duties of 
Churchwardens.— (1855, p. 56.) 

Report on the Duties of Churchwardens. 

The committee appointed by the Diocesan Convention of Maryland of 
1855, to report to the next Convention full and proper information as to the 
duties of Churchwardens (see Journal, p. 56), respectfully report that the 
office of Churchwardens, or guardians of the Church, seems to be of English 
origin, and to have grown out of the constitution of the Church of England. 



40 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



Blackstone says that they are the guardians and keepers of the Church, 
and representatives of the body of the Parish. England is divided into 
Parishes, or territorial districts, for Ecclesiastical purposes, in each of which 
there is a Church edifice ; which is, in a certain sense, the property of the 
parishioners, or inhabitants of the Parish. This edifice is to be maintained, 
and the expense of public worship, except the support of the Clergy, 
provided for by a rate of tax levied upon the property of the parishioners. 
This rate or tax is to be laid by the parishioners themselves, assembled in 
Vestry. The primary meaning of the phrase was, a meeting of the parish- 
ioners held in the vestry, or room in the Church in which the clerical vest- 
ments are kept, but the name Vestry is now applied to the meeting itself. 
Every person who is liable to pay Church rate is a member of the Vestry, 
which is consequently a large and cumbrous body, incapable of performing 
administrative functions. These are therefore devolved on the Church- 
wardens. The business of the Vestry, which meets only once or twice a 
year, is confined to imposing the rate, electing Churchwardens, and examin- 
ing their accounts. 

The duties of the Churchwardens, in England, are threefold: to take 
care of the property of the Parish, and administer its finances; to act as a 
sort of Ecclesiastical" police, in preserving order in the assemblies for 
public worship, and as a sort of Ecclesiastical grand jury for the present- 
ment of Ecclesiastical offenders. In Maryland, the first of these three 
classes of duties seems to be transferred to the selected Vestry of eight 
persons, chosen by the parishioners; who are here, what the Church- 
wardens are in England, the representatives of the parishioners. The 
Vestry Act (1798, ch. 24, §9,) gives to these bodies the property in, and 
management of, the estates and goods of the Parish, and the whole scope 
of the Act seems to imply that they are to have the control of the temporal 
affairs of the Parish. The Churchwardens are thus superseded in the 
principal part of their office. In fact, the Vestry Act leaves them nothing 
to do with the property or finances of the Church; except that, by the 29th 
section, the Vestries are prohibited from selling, aliening or transferring 
any of the property of the Church, without the consent of both the Church- 
wardens. . 

With respect to that portion of the duties of English Churchwardens* 

which consists in acting as an Ecclesiastical police, in preserving order in 
the assemblages for public worship, it was fully recognized by the twelfth 
section of the Act of 1798, ch. 24. But by Act of 1802, ch. Ill, §11, so much of 
that Act as confers on them the powers of civil officers of the peace, is 
repealed. They are still, the committee apprehend, charged by the 
Church with the duty of preserving order, and are the representatives of 
the Vestry and parishioners for that purpose. They have at common law, 
as the agents of the proprietors of the building, the right to remove from it 
any person who may be misconducting himself; using no more force than 
is absolutely necessary for that purpose. They have no right to demand 
the assistance of* other persons, but may accept that which is offered. 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 41 



The duties of Churchwardens, as an Ecclesiastical grand jury, are much 
modified by the system of discipline which has been adopted in this 
Church. In this Diocese they seem, so far as clerical discipline is con- 
cerned, to be superseded by the Standing Committee, and so far as 
relates to lay discipline, by the Minister. On this subject the committee 
would refer to the sixth and twenty-third Diocesan Canons of 1847. It 
would seem, nevertheless, that there remained a residuum of the ancient 
obligation, by which the Churchwardens are the proper persons to report 
Ecclesiastical offences to the persons on whom those canons imposed the 
indictive duty, that is, the Bishop, the members of the Standing Committee, 
or if the offender be a layman, the Minister of the Parish. 

The details of the duties of English Churchwardens are regulated by 
several Canons of the Code of 1604, which have been well collected by a 
correspondent of the True Catholic, in the second volume of the new 
series. — p. 282. He has distributed them under seven heads. The duties 
mentioned under three of those heads, viz : The care of the Church 
building, the supply of the necessaries of worship, and matters connected 
with accounts, are, your committee apprehend, transferred in Maryland to 
the Vestries. A sort of exception to this rule is made by the twenty-eighth 
Diocesan Canon of 1847, which directs the Churchwardens, when required 
by the Rector, to provide the elements for the celebration of the Holy 
Communion. But this must be so understood, as to imply that the Vestry 
are to pay the expense. 

The other four heads relate to the care of worship and doctrine, and 
of order and morals ; to the presentment of offenders and the admin- 
istration of discipline and government. The details which those canons 
regulate are accommodated to the civil and Ecclesiastical laws of Eng- 
land, which are, in some instances, not in force in this country. • In 
some instances the duties which are devolved upon Churchwardens by 
those canons have been transferred to the Vestries. The care of the 
pulpit, for the purpose of excluding unauthorized administrations, which is 
committed to the Churchwardens, by the fiftieth and fifty-second canons of 
the English Code of 1604, is, by the American canons, transferred to the 
Vestry, as will be seen by reference to the thirty-sixth canon of the General 
Convention of 1832, and the ninth of that of 1853. 1 

It seems to the committee that, while the adaptation of these canons to 
the state of our own laws is in itself a desirable thing, it would be a work 
of such delicacy and difficulty as w r ould perhaps render it inexpedient at 
present ; at any rate, it is beyond the scope of the duties committed to them 
by the last Convention. Until, however, that is done, the English canons 
would be an imperfect, and perhaps dangerous, guide for American 
Churchwardens. The committee, therefore, decline saying anything more 
upon this part of the subject. 

By the law or usage of most American Dioceses, the Churchwardens are 
members of the Vestries, and regarded as the principal members. In some 
Dioceses the legal title of the corporation is, "The Wardens and Vestry." 

1 Digest, Title I, Canons 17 and 18, §vi. 



42 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



Hence the Wardens are, in the canons of the General Convention, fre- 
quently named with the Vestry. In acting under such canons, it would 
be prudent for Vestries in Maryland to associate the Churchwardens with 
themselves. The special duties imposed upon Churchwardens, by the 
written laws of the American Church are very few. They are imposed 
either by rubrics or canons. Those by the rubrics, are only six, imposed 
by as many rubrics. Of these four impose ceremonial duties only. Three 
of them will be found in the office for the Institution of Ministers, and one 
in that for the Consecration of a Church or Chapel. In the office for the 
Churching of Women there is a rubric which associates the Church- 
wardens with the Minister in disposing of the offering which the woman is 
required to make. A rubric in the Communion Office designates Deacons 
and Churchwardens as the persons, with the alternative of other proper 
officers, to receive, during the Offertory, the alms and other devotions of 
the people. Canon 14, of 1853, 1 makes it the duty of the Churchwardens to 
certify to the Bishop the election of a Rector of a Parish, and to unite 
with the Rector in certifying the election of an Assistant Minister. Canon 
26, of 1832, 2 makes it the duty of Churchwardens, jointly with the Minister, 
to give information to the Bishop of the state of the congregation, under 
such heads as may have been committed to them one month before the 
Visitation or the meeting of the Diocesan Convention. This seems to be 
a recognition of the ancient duty of presenting offences which is directed 
by an English canon to be exercised in a similar manner. In fact, at every 
visitation of the Bishop or Archdeacon, the Churchwardens are still called 
on for presentments, although they generally present that everything is as 
it should be. 

The committee have only to add that, by the usage of this Diocese, the 
Churchwardens, or either of them, may certify the election of a lay dele- 
gate to the Convention, although the Register is the more usual and 
appropriate officer. 

H. Stringfellow, Jr. 
J. W. French. 
Hugh Davey Evans. 
John Snowden. 

(1856, pp. 93 to 95.) 

5. Resolution respecting an Act of Incorporation. 

Resolved, That the Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, passed 
at January session, 1856, ch. 17, entitled "An Act amendatory of the Act 
incorporating the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
Diocese of Maryland, passed at December session, 1840, ch. 67, authorizing 
the said Convention to take and hold subscriptions or contributions in 
money or otherwise," be, and the same is hereby accepted by this Con- 
vention, and the Secretary of this Convention is hereby authorized and 

1 Digest, Title I, Canon 18, §i. 

2 Digest, Title I, Canon 18, §iv, clause 2. 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 43 



directed to file, as early as practicable during the session of this Conven- 
tion, a proper official ceitificate of this acceptance with the Secretary of 
State.— (1856, p. 3.) 

6. Resolution respecting the Legal Capacity of Vestries. 

Resolved, That the President appoint a committee of three, learned in 
the law, to examine the legal question of the capacity of Vestries under 
the present practice in this State, and report at the next meeting of this 
Convention any action that they may deem necessary in the premises. — 
(1856, p. 15.) 

Report of the Committee on the Legal Capacity of Vestries. 

The committee appointed by the Convention of 1856, to examine the 
legal question of the capacity of Vestries under the present practice in this 
State, and report any action they may deem necessary in the premises, 
(see Journal of 1856, p. 15,) beg leave to present their report. 

The Vestries known to our Ecclesiastical system are of two kinds, 
Vestries of Parishes, and Vestries of Congregations. 

1. As to the first — Vestries of Parishes — they are of great antiquity in 
England, and are of two sorts, known as Vestries and Select Vestries, and 
derive their name from the place (vestiarium, a room for keeping the 
Minister's vestments) in which they usually met for the transaction of 
business. The Vestries proper, as distinguished from Select Vestries, 
consisted of the wmole body of contributing Parishioners, and had power 
in some cases by custom to elect both Churchwardens, but ordinarily those 
officers were chosen under the Canons of 1603 by the joint consent of the 
Ministers and Parishioners, and in case of disagreement, one Warden was 
elected by each. The Vestry was not a corporation, but the Church- 
wardens were, and as such, entitled to purchase and hold the goods of the 
Church and bring actions for them, the freehold of the Church and glebe 
being in the parson, who was also a corporation ecclesiastical. Besides 
the power of participating in the choice of Churchwardens, no Church 
rates could be levied without a majority of the Vestry present at a called 
meeting. 

The Select Vestries were a certain number of persons, elected yearly to 
make rates and manage the Parish concerns for that year. This could 
only be done in England, where a custom to that effect, legally speaking, 
existed. The powers of the Select Vestries seem to have been the same 
with those of Vestries generally, the one body acting as a sort of deputy 
for the other, and having, no doubt, originated in the difficulty attendant 
on the transaction of business by large numbers of Parishioners assembled 
together. 

These Select Vestries furnished the model for our present system, which, 
in its main features, has now prevailed for upwards of a century and a half. 

On the 9th of June, A. D. 1692, at the first regular session of the Assem- 
bly, held after the Crown had seized into his'own hands the government of 



44 RBSOLUTIOXS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAXD. 



the Province of Maryland, an Act was passed entitled, "An Act for the 
Service of Almighty God, and the establishment of the Protestant Religion 
in this Province." By its 3d section, the county justices were directed, with 
the advice of the principal freeholders, to lay out each county into Parishes 
by metes and bounds, after which the freeholders in each Parish were to 
make choice of six Vestrymen, who were empowered to levy Church rates, 
administer gifts or bequests for pious uses, and maintain suits in the premises 
as amply as any body corporate might do. This Act was repealed in 1696, 
but on the 25th of March, 1702, in the first year of Queen Anne, another was 
passed with the title of "An Act for the establishment of Religious Worship 
in this Province according to the Church of England, and for the mainte- 
nance of Ministers." By this Act Select Vestries of six were established in 
every Parish, the incumbent added to their number, and the Vestries in con- 
junction with the Churchwardens required to pay the Parish charges and 
repairs of Churches and Church yards, and authorized to apply to the County 
Church for assessments on the Parishioners for these purposes. This Provin- 
cial law, with some subsequent amendment, remained in force for upwards of 
seventy years, but finally made way for "An Act for the establishment of 
Select Vestries," passed by the State of Maryland in March, 1779, with a 
supplement enacted in November following, and this early State legislation 
was in its turn superseded by the "Act for the establishment of Vestries for 
each Parish in this State," passed at November session, 1798. 

To this last-mentioned Act resort must be had for the powers and 
capacities of parochial Vestries. The enumeration of those powers and 
capacities would be but a mere transcript of the law, which is unnecessary 
as being within every one's reach. Had the extent or construction of any 
of them been submitted to the committee, they would have directed their 
attention to it, but in the absence of any specific inquiry they have not 
thought themselves warranted in volunteering their opinion upon any 
particular clause. 

2. Congregational Vestries, where not incorporated by Special Acts, (as 
in the cases of Christ and St. Peter's Churches, Baltimore,) derive their 
existence from the Act of 1802, chapter 111, entitled "An Act to incor- 
porate certain persons in every Christian Church or Congregation in this 
State," and its Supplements. By this Act (commonly called the Christian 
Congregation Act) the members of each separate Congregation, organizing 
and acquiring a corporate existence under it, are empowered to adopt a 
plan of government settling the qualifications of the electoral body and the 
persons to be elected, and other things necessary for the continuance and 
management of the corporation generally. The word Vestry is not 
mentioned in the law, which only uses the word "Trustees" to designate 
the persons clothed with corporate powers. But all church congregations 
availing themselves of its provisions have always styled their Trustees 
Vestrymen, and for the most part have, it is believed, expressly conferred 
on these officers the powers possessed by Parochial Vestrymen. In the 
absence of any such declaration of their powers, it is the Committee's 
opinion that the use of the words "Vestrymen" and "Vestry" in a plan 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF COXVEXTIOX OF MARYLAND. 45 



adopted by churchmen would be held to import ex vi termini that the 
persons so designated were to exercise the powers and functions ordinarily 
signified by those terms. For all practical purposes, therefore, the powers 
and capacities, both of Parochial and Congregational Vestries, may be as- 
sumed to be identical, except in the instances in which special legislation 
may have made a difference. The committee have no suggestions to offer in 
the way of amendment ; the powers of Vestries, having been given, can only 
be altered by law, and are therefore beyond the authority of this body. It 
might, indeed, recommend, though it could not legislate; but the committee 
would deprecate any movement on the part of the Convention looking to a 
change in the Act of 1798. This Act, having been passed before the cession of 
the District of Columbia, is still in force in that part of the Diocese, but no 
modification of it at this day could operate there. Were any such to take 
place, it would introduce different systems in the portions of the Diocese 
lying within and without the territory of Maryland, and could hardly fail to 
bring confusion and evil with it. 

E. F. Chambers. 
J. Mason Campbell. 

(1858, pp. 101, 102.) 

7. Resolutions relative to the Collection and Preservation of Records. 

1. Resolved, That there be added to the permanent committees of the 
Convention a committee to be called The Committee on the Records of the 
Diocese, to consist of three members to be chosen by the Bishop, and the 
vacancies to be filled by him; whose duty it shall be to collect, take charge 
of and preserve the records of the Diocese, and to superintend the printing 
and publishing of any that may be directed to be printed and published ; 
and also 

2. Resolved, That the sum of two hundred dollars, out of the Convention 
fund, be appropriated, to be expended by the committee in the execution 
of their duties.— (1860, p. 12.) 

8. Of a Board of Church Charities. 

Whereas, By Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, 1856, ch. 17, it 
is provided that the corporate powers and privileges of the Convention of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maryland shall be 
extended to take and hold subscriptions or contributions in money or 
property which have been or may be made to or in behalf of the various 
objects of charity connected with the Church in the several counties of the 
State, and in the City of Baltimore, now existing or which may hereafter 
exist, under the sanction of said Convention, and to appoint in its discretion 
Executive Committees or other Trustees for administering the respective 
funds so arising as aforesaid in such manner and form as the Convention 
may, from time to time, prescribe; and whereas this Convention did, at its 
annual session in the year 1856, accept the powers granted by the said Act: 



46 RESOLUTIONS, ETC.. OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



and whereas it is necessary to make some provision for executing the same — 

1. Resolved, That, for the purpose of administering such subscriptions or 
contributions in money or property- as have been or may be made in behalf 
of church charities, in conformity with the Act aforesaid, there shall be a 
Board of Trustees, to be called "The Trustees of Church Charities," who 
shall receive, control, and invest all such contributions, donations, or be- 
quests of money or property as may be placed in their hands : Provided 
always, That in such administration . the respective funds shall be kept 
separate and distinct, and that each fund shall be held liable only for obli- 
gations that may have been incurred in its own proper behalf. 

2. Resolved, That this Board shall consist of the Bishop for the time being, 
who shall be ex officio President, and six Lay members of the Church ; and 
for the election of said Lay Trustees and the administration of the said 
fund, the following rules be adopted : 

1st. This Convention shall, after the passage of these resolutions, pro- 
ceed to ballot for six Lay Trustees, and the persons having the highest 
number of votes shall be declared elected. 

2d. The Trustees to be elected as aforesaid shall be distributed by 
arrangement amongst the members into three classes : the first class, con- 
sisting of the two having the largest number of votes, shall serve until the 
adjournment of the next Annual Convention after their appointment; the 
second class, consisting of the two receiving the next highest number of 
votes, shall serve until the adjournment of the second annual meeting of 
the Convention hereafter; and the third class shall serve until the adjourn- 
ment of the third annual meeting of the Convention hereafter ; each lot of 
these Trustees to hold their respective offices until their successors are 
appointed ; and to continue the succession of the Board, the Convention, at 
its next and succeeding annual meetings, shall elect, by ballot, Trustees in 
the stead of those whose terms are about to expire. The persons thus 
elected shall serve until the adjournment of the third annual meeting of the 
Convention after their election. 

3d. Any vacancy which may happen by death, resignation, refusal to 
serve, or removal out of the Diocese may be filled by the Board of Trustees, 
who shall appoint a suitable person, which person shall serve until the next 
annual meeting of the Convention, which shall appoint a Trustee to fill the 
vacancy for the residue of the term of the person in whose place he shall be 
elected. 

4th. The Board shall meet on some day prior to the first day of July next, 
to be appointed by the Bishop or by the Board, and at such time thereafter 
as the Board may direct, or upon the requisition of the Bishop or any two 
of the Trustees in writing. A meeting shall likewise be held on any day 
in the week next preceding the day appointed for the annual meeting of 
the Convention and at such place as the Bishop may name, when he calls 
them together. A majority of the Board shall be a quorum for the trans- 
action of business. — (As amended, 1873, p. 50.) 

5th. The Board, at its first meeting, and from time to time thereafter, shall 
appoint a Treasurer, who shall continue in office for one year, or until his 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 47 



successor is appointed. The Treasurer shall have the custody of the 
money, property, or securities belonging to the said Board, subject to such 
orders as the Trustees may make from time to time in relation thereto. It 
shall, likewise, be the duty of the Treasurer to keep an account of his 
receipts and disbursements, which shall be laid before the Convention at 
every meeting. 

6th. The money raised, and to be raised, shall be invested in registered 
securities, ground rents, or mortgages, in the discretion of the Board. — 
(As amended, 1876, p. 4:3.) 

7th. Every investment shall be made in the name of "The Convention 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland," and no 
investment so made shall be transferred or assigned, but by deed of the 
President of the Board, under seal of the Treasurer of the Board, and 
signed by the Bishop, or two other members of the Board. 

8th. The Board shall keep a journal of its proceedings in which shall 
be entered the attendance of its members and its acts and resolutions in 
regard to the administration of said fund, and on every question moved 
and decided, the ayes and noes shall be taken and entered on the journal 
of proceedings, if required by any member of the Board. 

9th. This journal, with a summary report of the proceedings of the Board, 
and the book of accounts of the Treasurer, shall be laid before the Con- 
vention at each annual meeting. 

10th. The foregoing rules may be altered, and any one or more of the 
said Trustees may be removed at any time by a vote of a majority of all 
the members of the Convention. — (1866, p. 18.) 

9. Of Consent to Division of Diocese. 

Resolved, That the consent of this Convention is hereby given to the 
erection of a new See, to consist of the Eastern Shore of the present 

Diocese of Maryland. — (1867, p. 11. See infra Xo. 49, Consent to Second 
Division.) 

10. Of the Salary of the Assistant Bishop. 

1. Resolved, That the sum of four thousand dollars per annum, payable 
quarterly, be the stipend of the Assistant Bishop. 

2. Resolved, That a Standing Committee of Ways and Means of three Lay- 
men be appointed by the chair, to whom shall be referred the mode of 
raising said stipend, as well as all questions of appropriation of money by 
the Convention. 

3. Resolved, That the said Committee is hereby empowered to raise, by 
such modes of assessment as shall appear to it most just, upon the several 
Parishes and Congregations of the Diocese the sums of money needed, and 
the assessments so levied shall be placed in charge of the Treasurer of the 
Convention, to be collected and distributed to the several purposes for which 
appropriations are made. — (1870, pp. 27 and 28.) 



48 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF COXVEXTIOX OF MARYLAND. 



11. Resolutions on the Episcopal Library. 

1. Resolved, That the Bishop of the Diocese, ex officio, together with 
three Clergymen and four Laymen, to be chosen by the Convention, on the 
nomination of the Bishop (who may increase the number, in his discretion), 
at each annual session, be a Committee to be known as the "Stinnecke 
Maryland Episcopal Library Committee," who shall have power" to receive, 
on behalf of the Convention, from the executors of the late Bishop Whit- 
tingham the books in the Library of the Episcopal Residence, which were 
bequeathed to the Convention by the late Bishop, and any other property 
in the Episcopal Residence bequeathed by the late Bishop to be used in 
connection with the said Episcopal Library, and to execute to the execu- 
tors of the late Bishop the necessary acquittances therefor; and to have 
the custody and charge of the said Library and other property connected 
therewith, and to devise and adopt whatever measures may be necessary 
for promoting and extending its usefulness ; and to recommend to the Con- 
vention, from time to time, such further action in the premises as they 
may deem desirable, and for the purpose of securing additions to the said 
Library. 

2. Resolved, That the Committee, so to be appointed, be empowered to 
appoint a suitable person as Librarian, at a salary of five hundred dollars 
per annum, payable out of the Convention Fund. * * * * — (1880, p. 68.) 

12. Hannah More Academy. 

Resolved^ That this Convention accepts and receives the Hannah More 

Academy as the Diocesan School for Girls. — (1873, p. 46.) 

13. Salary of the Secretary of the Convention. 

Resolved, That a salary of two hundred and fifty dollars per annum be paid 
out of the Episcopal and Convention Fund to the Secretary of this Convention 
for his services. — (1875, p. 64.) 

14. Of the Permanent Sustentation Fund. 

Resolved, That an offertory, at some time in each year, be requested 
from each Parish and Congregation for the benefit of the Permanent Sus- 
tentation Fund.— (1876, p. 49.) 

15. Missionary Services during each Session. 

Resolved, That the Committee of Missions be charged with the arrange- 
ments of the meeting of the Convention, to be held on the second [now 
first] evening of each session, so as to provide for the manner in which 
the subject of Diocesan Missions shall be presented to the Convention, in 
the form of public addresses and even to the exclusion of other business. — 
(1876, p. 52.) 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



40 



16. Of the Payment of Episcopal Assessments. 

Resolved, That every Parish and Congregation shall hereafter pay their 
annual assessment required under Canon V., in the following manner, 
that is to say : One-half of the amount on or before the first day of July, 
one-fourth on or before the first day of September, and one-fourth on or 
before the first day of November— (1878, p. 52.) 

17. Of Diocesan Theological Educational Fund. 

1. Resolved, That this Convention recognizes the expediency and the 
propriety of placing funds at the disposal of the Bishop, from which he 
may be enabled to respond to the applications made to him for assistance 
to those who are carrying on their studies as candidates for Holy Orders. 

2. Resolved, That it is hereby recommended to the Rectors of Parishes and 
Congregations in the Diocese to bring this subject to the notice of their 
people, on one of the four Sundays appointed as the stated times of Ordi- 
nation, and to ask an offering in behalf of this object on one of the said 
Sundays in each year. 

3. Resolved, That the fund so proposed to be* raised shall be known as "The 
Diocesan Theological Educational Fund," and shall be placed in the control 
of the Trustees of Church Charities, &c. 

4. Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to bring this subject 
and the action of the Convention upon it to the attention of the Church in 
such way as may most conduce to its success. — (1878, pp. 41, 56.). 

18. Accepting Amendment to the Charter of the Convention. 

1. Resolved, That the amendatory Act of 1878, ch. 403, explaining and 
extending the corporate powers of this Convention, be and the same is 
approved and accepted by this Convention. 

2. Resolved, That an official certificate, duly attested, of this acceptance, 
shall be sent to the Secretary of State of Maryland, to be filed by him. — 
(1878, pp. 41, 114.) 

19. Of the Committee on Donations. 

Resolved, That at each annual session of the Convention there be 
appointed by the Bishop, or other presiding officer, a committee of five 
Laymen, to be called "The Committee on Donations," who shall serve 
until the adjournment of the next Annual Convention, and to whom shall 
be referred the question of accepting or rejecting any gifts, by deed, will or 
otherwise, of land, personal property or money, which may be made to the 
Convention, and who shall be authorized to accept in the name of "The 
Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Mary- 
land" and attend to the giving due receipt for any donation or bequest to 
that body, which shall be offered for acceptance; Provided, That in the 
judgment of the Committee, the purpose of the gift, and the conditions 
imposed thereon by the donor, be proper to be accepted by the Convention ; 



50 RESOLUTIOXS, ETC.. OF COXJ^EXTIOX OF MARYLAND, 



in all other cases the Committee shall report the same to the next annual 
meeting of the Convention. And in cases where, from the purpose of the 
gift, and the conditions imposed thereon by the donor, the Board of 
Trustees of Church Charities, shall, in the judgment of the Committee 
be the appropriate body to receive and administer the same, the Com- 
mittee is hereby empowered so to direct. In all other cases the disposition 
of the gift shall be reserved for the action of the Convention. (1882, p. 61, 
as amended, 1883, pp. 13, 16, and 1895, p. 26.) 

20. Observance of Sunday. 

Whereas, The increasing irreverence and open contempt for the sanctity 
of the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday, shown in multiplied encroach- 
ments upon it, by railroad and telegraph operations, Sunday excursions by 
land or water, publication, patronage and use of Sunday secular papers, are 
directly opposed to the divine design of the Lord's Day, the rights of em- 
ployes to its benefits, attendance upon Church and Sunday School and the 
training of youth in the fear of God and regard to the fourth commandment ; 
therefore, 

Resolved. That it solemnly devolves upon all connected with this Conven- 
tion and the members of the Protestant Episcopal Church generally, in re- 
ligous regard for the sacred institution, to avoid all unnecessary secular em- 
ployment on the Lord's Day, and to discourage whatever tends to increase 
such employment. 

Resolved, That the members of this Convention exert their influence to 
induce managers and stockholders of railroad companies to reduce railroad 
operations on Sunday to the lowest possible "point of necessity," thus affording 
their employes the much-needed privileges of the weekly rest day. — (1833, pp. 
18, 14, 25.) 

21. Official Seal of the Diocese. 

Resolved, That the corporate seal of this Convention, as adopted by the 
Committee appointed at the last Convention, be in the keeping of the 
Secretary, and that its use on legal documents be attested by the signature 
of the Secretary, and that the Treasurer of the Convention, for the time 
being, be the authorized attorney to acknowledge such instruments as may 
require acknowledgment. — (1883, p. 27.) 

22. Salary of the Bishop. 

Resolved, That the salary of the Bishop of this Diocese be five thousand 
dollars per annum, besides the use of the Episcopal Residence. — (1884, p. 12.) 

23. Official Expenses of the Bishop. 

Resolved, That the Treasurer of the Convention be directed to pay the 
necessary official expenses of the Bishop of the Diocese. — (1885, p. 33.) 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 51 



24. Maryland Church Building Fund. 

Resolved, That the Trustees of Church Charities be directed to invest 
sums now or that may be placed in their hands, for the benefit of the Mary- 
land Church Building Fund, together with the income therefrom, until the 
par value of said investments shall amount to five thousand dollars ; and 
that the income thereafter from the investments of said funds shall be held 
subject to the order of the Bishop, for the purposes of said fund. — (1886, 
p. 38.) 

2."). Committee of Missions. 

Resolved, That the Committee of Missions be, and they are hereby, recom- 
mended to hold sessions at such cities within the Diocese as they may 
select at such times as they may deem suitable ; that special service be held 
in such Churches as they may select, with the consent of the Rectors thereof, 
at which addresses may be made by the Clergy and such Laymen as may 
consent thereto on the subject of Diocesan Missions, and collections be 
made therefor.— (1889, p. 12.) 

26. Change of Church Name. 

Resolved, That this Convention most decidedly disapproves of any change 
in the name or title of this Church.— (1889, pp. 16, 17.) 

27. Custodian of the Records. 

1. Resolved, That the custodian of the records is authorized from time to 
time to exchange duplicate copies of the Journals of Convention of this 
and other Dioceses for other books of value to the Episcopal Library. 

2. Resolved, That the custodian of the records is authorized to destroy 
such old papers relating to Journals of Convention prior to the year 1886, 
as are of no permanent historical value. — (1889, p. 20.) 

28. Colored Population. 

1. Resolved, That this Convention urge the Clergy to provide regular 
services for our colored population, and where practicable gather them 
into Parish and Sunday Schools, and call upon the Laity to cordially co- 
operate with the Clergy in all such measures. 

2. Resolved, That we recommend that a collection be taken every year 
in each Congregation of the Diocese for this department of work, which 
shall be equally divided between the work in Maryland and the General 
Commission on colored work. 

3. Resolved, That the Clergy be requested to see that the Bishop's 
Penny be faithfully collected from the children in their several charges. — 
(1889, p. 25.) 

29. Disabled and Superannuated Clergy Fund. 

1. Resolved, That the Clergymen in charge of Congregations be 
requested in connection with the collection directed to be made on Christ- 



52 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



mas Day or Thanksgiving Day, for the Disabled and Superannuated 
Clergy Fund, to preach a sermon, or make an address, or issue a circular, 
or adopt such other means as to them seem most advisable, explaining the 
object of the Fund, urging its importance, and inviting gifts to increase the 
invested fund, as well as offerings for present use. 

2. Resolved, That the Committee of Missions be authorized to retain 
and keep at interest any balance for the Superannuated and Disabled 
Clergy Fund until occasion may arise for its use. — (1890, pp. 9, 10.) 

30. Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Howard County. 

Resolved, That a Committee to consist of the Clergyman in charge of 
the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, and two Laymen to be selected by the 
Bishop be appointed to take charge of the church property belonging to 
the Convention and located near Jonestown, Howard County. — (1890, p. 12.) 

31. Secretary of the Convention. 

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Convention is hereby instructed to 
use the word "apportionment" in place of the word assessment in the 
present and future Journals of Convention. — (1890, p. 15.) 

32. Committee of Missions. 

1. Resolved, That the Committee of Missions be excused from publish- 
ing in the Journals of Convention a list of the contributions expected from 
the Parishes and Congregations. 

2. Resolved, That the Clergymen in charge of the several Congregations 
be requested to make special efforts, severally and jointly, to stir up and 
cherish an enthusiasm for the maintenance and extension of the Church 
throughout the Diocese and to train their people to make larger offerings 
year by year. 

3. Resolved, That the Rectors receiving Pastoral Aid be requested to 
send into the Committee full reports of their work on the first of January 
in each year and that the Missionaries be requested to send in reports on 
first of May and first of November. 

4. Resolved, That the question of apportionments, and of sending notice 
to the Rectors and Clergy in charge of congregations as to the needs of 
the Committee and the amount of the respective apportionments, be left 
to the discretion of the Committee— (1891, pp. 7, 8.) 

33. Church Home and Infirmary. 

1. Resolved, That this Convention earnestly commends the Church Home 
and Infirmary to the thoughtful and generous liberality of the members of 
the Church. 

2. Resolved, That the Secretary is authorized to give a page of the 
Journal to such statement of the work of the Church Home, as may bring 
it to the notice of the Clergy, and other members of the Church. — (1891, p. 
18.) 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OP MARYLAND. 53 



34. Report of Committee on Canons, under Resolution adopted 1890, p. 16. 

1. Your Committee are of the opinion that the word "Churches" re- 
ferred to in the first section of "Instructions" (in the Compilation) in its 
exact scope would embrace all the Churches in the Parishes interested, 
and out of which the new Parish is to be formed. 

2. They are of the opinion that the forms and resolutions (in the Com- 
pilation) have virtually received the authorization of the Convention in 
1872, and should in all cases be followed as methods of procedure. — 
(1891, p. 19.) 

35. Warfield College. 

The Committee on Donations have to report that since the last meeting 
of this Convention, the Court of Appeals of Maryland has confirmed the 
right of the Convention to the devises and bequests contained in the will 
of the late Miss Susannah Warfield, and in consequence it has become 
entitled to receive fifty acres of land, including the dwelling house and out- 
buildings of the Groveland Farm near Sykesville, Carroll County, Mary- 
land, together with the proceeds of the sale of the rest of the land amount- 
ing in all to 223 acres, and also the sum of about seven thousand dollars in 
cash, to which will be added hereafter upon the expiration of a life estate 
an additional sum of five thousand dollars. These devises and bequests 
are made to the Protestant Episcopal Convention in the Diocese of Mary- 
land, "to be held as a place for a Church School for boys, to be under the 
supervision and control of the said Corporation." The testratrix further 
provides "That should any of the male descendants of my brothers and 
sisters be without the means of education, it is my desire that they be 
educated at this school free of expense. It must be called THE WAR- 
FIELD COLLEGE, in memory of my brother, William Henry Warfield, 
who formerly owned the Groveland Farm." The Committee has accepted 
these devises and bequests. — (1892, p. 8.) 

Resolved, That this Convention appoint a Board of Trustees to consist 
of three Clergymen of the Order of Priests and three Laymen, communi- 
cants of the Church, who, with the Bishop, shall organize the Warfield 
College and control its affairs.— (1893, p. 26.) 

36. Enrollment and Transfer of Communicants. 

Resolved, That the Church has made ample provision for the proper 
enrollment and transfer of Communicants, and that it is of imperative 
obligation that the Clergy should carefully enforce the existing Canons, 
both General and Diocesan, relating to the subject. — (1892, p. 10, and see 
Section i., Canon 39, of the General Convention.) 



54 RESOLUTIOXS, ETC., OF COXFEXTIOX OF MARYLAND. 



38. Colored Population. 

Resolved, That the Convention suggest to the Clergy that in all Parishes 
or Missions in which there is a colored population, efforts should be made 
to establish Mission Sunday Schools, and, where possible, Industrial Sewing 
Schools.— (1892, p. 16.) 

38. Records of the Diocese. 

Resolved, That hereafter the Records of the Diocese be deposited and 
preserved in a place to be designated by the Bishop. — (1892, p. 24.) 

39. Portrait of Bishop Whittingham. 

Whereas, The Rev. Dr. Brand has formally presented to the Diocese of 
Maryland, at the session of its Annual Convention, the portrait of the late 
honored and lamented Bishop Whittingham, as the gift of Mr. Blanchard 
Randall and other gentlemen; therefore, 

1. Resolved, That the Convention accept this valued gift with their cor- 
dial thanks and the expression of their high appreciation of the filial and 
affectionate spirit which began and completed this rich contribution to the 
treasures of the Church in Maryland, and that they and the accomplished 
artist who has so faithfully executed his work, be assured that the memory 
of Bishop Whittingham is cherished as a precious heritage of this Diocese. 

2. Resolved, That the picture be committed to the care of the Committee 
on the Library, for which the Diocese is indebted to the Bishop, who will 
ever be regarded as one of the most eminent prelates of the Church in 
America— (1892, p. 30.) 

40. Portrait of Bishop Stone. 

The Rev. Dr. Hodges presented to the Convention a portrait of Bishop 
Stone, and on motion of the Rev. Dr. Grammer, the thanks of the Con- 
vention were extended to Mrs. S. Sudler, the grand-daughter of the de- 
ceased Bishop, for the gift of the portrait, and to St. Paul's Guild for the 
renovation of the same. 

On motion of the Rev. Wm. M. Dame, the portrait was ordered to be placed 
in the same custody as that of Bishop Whittingham. — (1893, p. 19. See 
Resolution No. 39.) 

41. Qualification of voters at Elections for Vestrymen. 

1. Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention it is not the inten- 
tion of the Vestry Act to require, as a qualification for the gift of suffrage 
at the election of Vestrymen, that every voter shall first apply to the Reg- 
ister to be enrolled, but that entry of the name of the voter on the books of 
the Parish, furnished by the Vestry, as a member of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, whether made by the Rector or by the Register, shall be 
sufficient, if made at least one month before the election, provided the other 
requirements of the law, as to residence, age, and support of the Parish, be 
complied with. 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 55 



2. Resolved, That the Convention recommend that the Rectors of Par- 
ishes enter into an arrangement with the Registers of their respective Par- 
ishes, whereby the two shall unite in keeping the same set of Parish books, 
the Register recording in each of these his official declaration that they are 
kept with his approval, as required by the Vestry Act, the Rector pro tanto 
acting as the deputy or clerk of the Register. — (1893, p. 22.) 

42. Enrollment of Church Members, and Rights of Registers of Parishes. 

Resolved, That is entitled to his seat in this Convention as 

Lay Delegate from Parish, County, on the facts reported 

by the Special Committee. 

Provided, however, that this Convention is not by this action to be under- 
stood as sanctioning or countenancing the assertion by any Vestry whether 
de facto or de jure of right or function — 

First — To control the Register of a Parish in respect to the exercise of 
his legal duty to enroll any person of the Protestant Episcopal Church who 
shall apply to him for the purpose at^any time. 

Second — Or to require a new application each year for entry on the books 
of a Parish as a qualified voter therein. — (1893, pp. 23, 25. See Brayshaw 
Case.) 

43. Form of Calls to Rectorship. 

Resolved, That in order to avoid misunderstanding and conflict with re- 
gard to the relation between Rectors and Vestries, all calls to Rectorship 
should be made with definite statement of the time or condition of termina- 
tion, and the following form is recommended : 

"The Vestry of 

have elected and do invite the Rev 

to be rector of said Parish (or Congregation) at an annual salary of 



payable 

with the use of the Rectory and 

and with the agreement that said Rectorship shall continue until dissolved 
by mutual consent, or by the arbitration and decision of the Ecclesiastical 
Authority of the Diocese.— (1893, pp. 30, 31.) 

44. Qualification of Vestrymen. 

Resolved, That it is against the law of the Church and of the State, that 
any but members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, made such either by 
Baptism, or by Confirmation, or by admission to the Holy Communion, 



56 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



should hold office as Vestrymen in the same ; and that such a practice may. 
upon occasion, involve a gross outrage upon the rights of the Clergy and 
upon the interests of the Church. — (1893, p. 32.) 

45. Convention Journals. 

Resolved, That the Secretary be instructed to mail one copy of the Journal 
to each Clergyman of the Diocese and one copy to each Lay Delegate who 
was in attendance ; and to such others as may request the same. — (1893, p. 34.) 

46. Report of Committee on Donations, accepting a Deed for the Church 

Property at Curtis Bay. 

The Committee has had tendered to it a deed from Theodore C. Gambrall, 
Charles F. Taylor and Edwin Higgins to the Convention of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland of all that lot of ground situate, 
lying and being in South Baltimore. Anne Arundel County, Maryland, de- 
scribed as follows, that is to say : Beginning for the same at the northeast 
corner of Church Street and Fairview Avenue and running thence east 
bounding on the north side of Church Street sixty feet, thence north one 
hundred feet parallel with Fairview Avenue to the south side of an alley, 
twenty feet wide, thence west and bounding on said alley, with the use 
thereof in common with others, sixty- feet, and thence south bounding on the 
east side of Fairview Avenue one hundred feet to the place of beginning. 
This is the property upon which the Church at Curtis Bay has been erected. 

The Committee has accepted the grant of this property. — (1894, p, 7.) 

Resolved, That a Committee of two be appointed annually, who with the 
Bishop shall have charge of the Church property at Curtis Bay — (1894, 
P. 16.) 

47. Collections for Diocesan Missions and Pastoral Aid. 

Resolved, That, inasmuch as the obligations of the Committee are made 
for the year and are to be paid quarterly, the Resolutions appointing the 
Fourth Sunday after Easter for collections for Diocesan Missions and Pas- 
toral Aid be rescinded, and that every Clergyman be urged to make his 
collections for this purpose — in whole, if possible, if not, in part — before or 
during the Advent season.— (1894, pp. 12, 13.) 

48. Superannuated and Disabled Clergy Fund. 

Resolved, That all funds coming into the hands of the Treasurer of the 
Diocese from gifts or bequests to the Convention for the Superannuated and 
Disabled Clergy Fund shall be paid over by him to the Trustees of Church 
Charities, to be invested by them as the other funds held by them are in- 
vested.— (1894, p. 24.) 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF COXVEXTIOX OF MARYLAND. 57 



49. Consent to Second Division of the Diocese. 

Resolved, That the Convention of the Diocese of Maryland hereby ratifies 
its action taken a year ago in reference to division and declares that it is 
expedient at this time to divide the Diocese of Maryland into two Dioceses, 
and that the consent of this Convention be and is hereby given to the erection 
within the limits of the Diocese of Maryland of a new Diocese to be formed 
by the territory comprised within the District of Columbia, and also the 
following Counties to wit : St. Mary's, Charles, Prince George's and Mont- 
gomery.— (1895, pp. 15, 16, 17.) 

50. Nominations for Standing Committee, and Deputies to General 

Convention. 

Resolved. That hereafter opportunity be given on the first day of the Con- 
vention for nominations to be made for Standing Committee and Deputies to 
General Convention, and that the Secretary be instructed to have alphabetical 
lists of these names printed and distributed at the hour of meeting on the 
second day.— (1895, p. 33.) 

51. Resolution in respect to the Poole Fund, for St. Marys Church, 

Hampden, Baltimore. 

Resolved, That there shall be appointed, annually, as other committees are 
appointed, a board of three trustees, to represent the Convention in the 
management of the property conveyed by the Vestry of St. Mary's Church, 
Hampden, Baltimore, Md., by deed dated June 29th, 1895, and recorded among 
the Land Records of Baltimore City, in Liber J. B., No. 1567, folio 138, etc., 
to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of 
Maryland, and that the said trustees, of whom the Rector of said Parish for 
the time being shall be one, shall have the authority to sell, lease, or in any 
other manner dispose of the lands conveyed by said deed and to invest the 
proceeds therefrom, and to apply the same, or the income thereof, to the 
purposes set out in said deed, as fully as this Convention is empowered to do, 
and shall report annually to the Convention. — (1896, pp. 7, 8.) 

52. Report of gift of Library of Rev. Edwin A. Dalrymple to the Episcopal 
Library, and Resolutions thereon. 

Your Committee have the very great pleasure of announcing to the Con- 
vention, that the sister of a late well-known presbyter of this Diocese has 
expressed, in writing, her wish to convey to the Diocesan Library the books 
which formerly belonged to her brother. The collection is very valuable. 



58 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



1. Resolved, That this Convention accept the generous donation of the 
library of the late Dr. Dalrymple, upon the terms stated by Miss Dalrymple, 
in her letter to the Sub-Committee and upon the further condition that the 
collection be kept always distinct, and never be allowed to go out of the 

Diocese. 

2. Resolved, That the Secretary of this Convention be instructed to con- 
vey to Miss Dalrymple the appreciation of this Convention of her most gener- 
ous and valuable gift. 

3. Resolved, That this report and accompanying papers, except list of 
books, be printed in the Journal of the Convention. 

4. Resolved, That fifty dollars be appropriated to the expenses of the 
library. 

5. Resolved, That the Committee on the Episcopal Library be and are 
hereby instructed and empowered to receive the Dalrymple Library, and to 
make such temporary provision for its care as may be necessary; Provided, 
That they do not expend over $300, for which they may draw upon the 
Treasurer of the Diocese.— -(1896, pp. 18, 19, 20.) 

53. Non-acceptance of the Act of Assembly of 1892, chapter 702, amending 

the Vestry Act. 

Resolved, That this Convention declines to accept the provisions of the 
Act of Assembly of 1892, ch. 702, amending the Vestry Act— (1897, p. 12.) 

54. Diocesan Missionary Aid, and Ministering to the Sick in Hospitals and 

other Institutions, and to Prisoners. 

1. Resolved, That while the best interests of the Church in this Diocese de- 
mand a generous consideration of its Mission Stations and of its financially 
weak Parishes, yet the aim should always be kept in view of making them 
self-sustaining, and that to this end the policy of making a gradual reduc- 
tion of at least five per cent, each year in the amount of missionary or 
parochial aid to each such Parish or Mission Station should be pursued 
wherever it can be done with a due regard to trie interests involved. 

2. Resolved, That inasmuch as Diocesan Missionary aid is appropriated with 
reference to promoting the growth and extension of the Church throughout 
the whole Diocese, there is no hardship in requiring that every rector, or 
minister in charge, receiving Missionary aid, should place his services for at 
least five Sundays in each year at the disposal of the Bishop, except in those 
cases where such rector or minister has already more than one station under 
his charge. 

3. Resolved, That whereas it would seem very desirable to bring the Arch- 
diaconal organizations into more active co-operation with the missionary 
work of the Diocese, the suggestion which has been made of referring to them 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF COXVEXTIOX OF MARYLAND. 59 



for advice, with regard to apportionments and appropriations in their several 
districts is heartily commended. 

4. Resoived, That the duty of ministering to the sick in hospitals, and to those 
confined in prisons, and to all other inmates of public institutions, seems to 
fall legitimately within the province of the parochial clergy within whose 
Parishes or in whose immediate vicinage the same are located, and such min- 
istration is therefore warmly commended to them as justly entitled to a fair 
portion of their pastoral care.— (1897, pp. 26, 27.) 

55. Provision for preserving Evidence of Admission of New Parishes and 

Separate Congregations. 

Resolved, That when a new Parish is admitted into union with the Con- 
vention, the Secretary of the Convention shall file with the keeper of the 
records of the Diocese a copy of the Act admitting such Parish, together 
with the map submitted with the petition for leave to organize as a new 
Parish ; and when a Separate Congregation is admitted into union with the 
Convention, the Secretary shall file with the keeper of the records a certi- 
fied copy of the Certificate of Incorporation of said Congregation. — (1897, 
pp. 31, 39.) 

56. Support of the Episcopate. 

Resolved, That the Treasurer of the Episcopal Fund be, and he is hereby 
directed to pay quarterly to the Treasurer of the Convention the net income 
of the productive investments of the Episcopal Fund, the sum so paid to be 
applied to the support of the Episcopate. — (1897, pp. 33, 34.) 

57. Committee on Auditing Accounts. 

Resolved. That a Committee of three Laymen be appointed annually, by the 
Bishop, to whom shall be referred for audit, at least two weeks before the 
meeting of the Convention, all the accounts, books and investments of all offi- 
cers and committees of the Convention, having in their care moneys or prop- 
erties of the Convention— (1897, p. 42.) 

58. Disposition of the Keerl Fund. 

Resolved, That the final disposition of the Keerl Fund remaining after 
making the appropriation which may be required for the Library, be post- 
poned, and that during the next three years the principal be left in the cus- 
tody of the Trustees appointed to take charge of the same and be kept in- 
vested by them; and that the Convention appropriate, annually, the income 
therefrom for such purposes as may be determined upon at the annual meet- 
ings of the Convention.— (1898, p. 16.) 



60 RESOLUTIOXS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



59. Archdeaconries. 

1. Resolved, That it is desirable that each Archdeaconry, acting with the 
advice of the Bishop, shall conduct the missionary work within its own 
limits, and shall control the distribution of the money allotted to it by the 
Committee of Missions, in aid of the mission stations and feeble Parishes; 
shall apportion among its several Parishes and missions the amount to be 
raised by it for Diocesan Missions, as required by the Committee of Mis- 
sions, and may, at its discretion, with the approval of the Bishop, undertake 
special missionary work and raise funds for that purpose, provided it shall 
first have complied with the requirements of the Committee of Missions. 

2. Resolved, That the Committee of Missions is hereby instructed to take 
action accordingly for the year ensuing. — (1S98, p. 20.) 

60. Custody of Securities and Papers. 

1. Resolved, That all Boards or Committees appointed by the Convention for 
the administration of funds held by it, be directed to deposit the securities or 
other valuable papers which may be in their possession, in some Safe Deposit 
Company in the City of Baltimore. And the Safe Deposit Company shall be 
furnished with the names of the members of the Board or Committee, and 
the name of its Treasurer, and instructed to permit the box to be open to ac- 
cess only by the Treasurer and one other member of the Board or Com- 
mittee. 

2. Resolved, That the expense of said boxes shall be defrayed from any 
funds, other than principal, in the hands of such Boards or Committees, re- 
spectively, or may be appropriated by the Convention for the use of such 
Boards or Committees. — (1898, p. 35.) 

61. Preliminary Vote for Bishop. 

Resolved, Before proceeding to the election of a Bishop in this Diocese, and 
after opportunity for nomination has been afforded, there shall be three in- 
formal ballots by the Clergy and the Laity, voting concurrently, and the votes 
shall be reported by tellers for each Order as in the case of elections under 
the provisions of the Rules of Order.— (1900, p. 13.) 

62. Expenses of Delegates. 

Resolved, That this Convention will provide, to a measure to be hereafter 
fixed, for the expenses of its Deputies, both Clerical and Lay, to the General 
Convention.— (1901 p. 6.) 

64. Income of the Rev. Dr. Williams Fund. 



Resolved, That since there is no probable need for any special building for 
the loan department of the Episcopal Library, that the income derived here- 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 61 



after from the Dr. Walter W. Williams Fund be paid over by the Treasurer 
of the Episcopal Fund to the Committee on the Diocesan Libraries, to be 
used by it for the purchase of books for the loan department. — (1901, p. 13.) 

64. Permanent Endowment of the Episcopate. 

1. Re soh ed, That the proper and permanent endowment of the Episcopate 
of this Diocese requires the increase of the Episcopate Fund to $100,000. 

2. Resolved, That each Parish and separate Congregation in the Diocese be 
requested, through its rector or minister, to make an annual contribution to 
the Accumulating Episcopal Fund, and that one-half of one per centum of its 
receipts is suggested as a reasonable basis for such contribution. 

3. Resolved j That the Trustees of the Episcopal Fund be, and they are hereby 
instructed, to hold and invest the money received and to be received for the 
Accumulating Episcopal Fund and to reinvest the interest and income there- 
from, until the amount thereof shall, with the Episcopal Fund, reach $100,000. 

4. Resolved, That the Treasurer of the Episcopal Fund send notices each 
year to all the clergymen of the Diocese in charge of Parishes or Congrega- 
tions, three months before the meeting of the Convention, reminding them 
of this contribution and requesting them to speak of it to their people. 

5. Resolved, That the existing standing resolutions on the subject of the Ac- 
cumulating Episcopal Fund be and are hereby rescinded. — (1901, p. 18.) 

65. Printing of the Journal. 

1. Resolved, That the printing of the Journal of the Convention be given to 
a firm in which the conditions of labor as to working time, wages and sanitary 
provisions are as favorable to the employees as the conditions generally 
prevailing in the first-class firms of this city; provided this can be done with- 
out increasing the cost of printing of the Journal. 

2. Resolved, That the following certificate of the above conditions be 
printed as a note at the foot of the last page of the Journal : 

We certify that in the printing, binding and publishing of this Journal, the 
working time is no longer than is usually required by first-class firms in this 
city, the rate of wages is as high as is paid by the first-class firms here, and 
proper provision is made for the health, comfort and safety of the em- 
ployees.— (1902, p. 9.) 

66. Copies of Charters and Acts of Incorporation. 

Resolved, That the Committee of the Records of the Diocese be requested 
to secure for filing and preservation in the Episcopal Library, copies of the 
Charters and Acts of Incorporation of the various Parishes and Separate 
Congregations of the Diocese. — (1902, p. 21.) 



62 RESOLUTIOXS, ETC., OF COXJ'EXTIOX OF MARYLAND. 



67. Corporate Seal of the Convention. 

1. Resohed, That the design presented by the Committee on Corporate Seal, 
marked Diagram A, containing a representation of the Ark and the Dove, 
together with the Arms of the State of Maryland, and particularly described 

as follows : 

Description of New Corporate Seal of Convention. 

Diagram marked A — designed for the seal — (front side) — blazoned as fol- 
lows : 

"Within a cusp : Buoyant upon the waves of the Sea ; beneath the lower 
half of the Sun in splendour ; the Ark of Noah ; and in the foreground, above 
the Ark, the Dove holding in its beak the olive branch; all proper. At the 
foot, below the Ark, the Shield of the Arms of Maryland, quarterly, (Cal- 
vert and Croslands), first and fourth, Paly of six, Or and Sable, a bend 
counterchanged ; second and third, quarterly, Argent and Gules, a crossed 
croslet botonny counterchanged; the whole within a bordure of the cusp, 
Sable, lined upon both edges and enscribed with this legend, to wit, 'Seal of 
the Convention of the Prot : Episc : Church of the Diocese of Maryland/ and 
at the foot '1783 + 1840,' in text letters and figures of gold, as depicted in the 
margin." 

And the same design, as so blazoned, without the colors, — for use as a 
stamp or impression, — as depicted in the margin. 
Be, and the same is hereby adopted, as the Seal of this Convention. 

2. Resolved, That the determination of the size of the Seal, and its prepara- 
tion, be referred to the Bishop of the Diocese, the Secretary of the Conven- 
tion, and the members of the Committee on Corporate Seal, and that upon the 
completion of the said Seal, it be delivered to the Secretary of this Conven- 
tion, to be henceforth used as the Seal of this Convention, and that there- 
upon, the die of the present Seal be deposited in the Diocesan Library, in the 
custody of the Librarian thereof, and the Committee shall stand finally dis- 
charged.— (1903, p. 14.) 

(For Counter Seal see Journal, 1904, p. 25.) 

68. Income of the Keerl Fund. 

Resolved, That the income of this Keerl Fund, not otherwise appropriated 
by this Convention, shall be appropriated to the Committee of Missions, until 
such time as the Convention shall otherwise order. — (1903, p. 26.) 

69. St. Mary's Church, Hampden. 

1. Resolved, That all payments heretofore made by the Committee having 
in charge the property given by the late Robert Poole, from the income de- 
rived from said property for the general work of St. Mary's Church, Hamp- 
den, are hereby ratified and approved; and be it further 



RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



63 



2. Resolved, That the Committee to be appointed at this session of the Con- 
vention be, and is hereby authorized, to apply all unexpended income from 
said property, and such as may be received hereafter, to the general work of 
said Church, it being understood that said expenditures are in accordance 
with the provisions of said gift. 

3. Resolved Further, That the foregoing authority shall continue until the 
further action of the Convention respecting said income. — (1904, p. 5.) 

70. Donation by Vestry of Trinity Church. 

Resolved, That the donation of $2,000 by the Vestry of Trinity Church, 
Baltimore City, to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
Diocese of Maryland, in trust, to be invested, and the income thereof to be 
paid to the Vestry of the Church of the Holy Comforter, Baltimore City, 
for the use of that Church, be and the same is hereby accepted. — (1904, p. 28.) 

71. Loan to the Hannah More Academy. 

1. Resolved, That a loan of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) out of the 
Keerl Fund be made to the Trustees of the Hannah More Academy, under 
an agreement from the said Trustees to repay, at least, one thousand dollars 
($1,000) per annum upon the loan, and to pay in addition thereto interest at 
the rate of four per cent, per annum on the amount of the unpaid balance 
of the loan due from year to year. — (1906, p. 14.) 

2. Resolved, That the Trustees of the Keerl Fund and other officers of this 
Convention shall have power to sell or mortgage any part of the property in 
which the fund is now, or shall be, invested for the purpose of raising money 
for the loan to the Trustees of the Hannah More Academy, as authorized by 
this Convention.— (1906, p. 16.) 

72. Historiographer of the Diocese. 

Resolved, That the Bishop be authorized to appoint some person to be the 
Historiographer of this Diocese. — (1906, p. 25.) 

73. A Weekly Day of Rest for Workingmen. 

Whereas, This Convention, in its standing Resolutions adopted in 1883, ex- 
pressed its earnest disapprobation of the increased disregard for the Lord's 
Day, commonly called Sunday; and, 

Whereas, The stress of modern life seems to compel many persons to work 
on Sundays ; therefore be it 

Resolved, That the members of this Convention exert their influence to 
persuade all corporations and other employers of labor to reduce to the lowest 



64 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 



possible point of necessity all secular work on Sundays ; and to see that all 
persons necessarily employed on that day be given some other day in every 
seven for a day of rest. 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the Bishop, whose duty 
■shall be to make known these Resolutions to all employers of labor and their 
employees, as far as possible by direct communication, and also through the 
public press, and that they especially so make them known to all corporations 
in the securities of which this Convention is interested — (1907.) 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION 



65 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 
1. Ratifying Division of the Diocese of Maryland. 

Whereas, A petition has been presented to, the House of Clerical and Lay 
Deputies from the Clergy and Parishes of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, 
praying that all that portion of the State of Maryland known and desig- 
nated as the Eastern Shore of Maryland, being all that part of the said State 
lying east of Chesapeake Bay and the Susquehanna River, embracing the 
counties of Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne, Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester, Wicomico, 
Somerset and Worcester, the territory so embraced being part of the Diocese 
of Maryland and of no other Diocese, be separated from the Diocese of Mary- 
land and be formed into a new Diocese ; and whereas it appears by official 
documents laid before this House (Clerical and Lay Deputies), that both the 
Bishop and the Convention of the Diocese of Maryland have consented to such 
separation and formation of a new Diocese, and that all the requirements of 
the 5th Article of the Constitution and Canons are fulfilled; therefore be it 

Resolved, That this Convention does hereby ratify the above mentioned 
division of the Diocese of Maryland into two Dioceses, by the formation 
within its limits of the new Diocese above described, such division to take 
effect on the calling of a convention for the purpose by the Bishop or Eccle- 
siastical Authority of the Diocese, and that this General Convention does hereby 
recognize the union with the General Convention of the new Diocese above 
described, to take effect at the time above mentioned, the name of the said 
new Diocese to be determined by its Convention, with the concurrence of the 
Bishop and the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Maryland. — (1868, 
p. 189.) 

2. Ratifying Erection of the Diocese of Washington, 

The Committee on the Admission of New Dioceses, to whom was referred 
the Memorial of the Diocese of Maryland, praying for a division of that 
Diocese, so that the new Diocese shall consist of the District of Columbia 
and the counties of Prince George's, Montgomery, St. Mary's and Charles, 
respectfully report that all the Constitutional requirements have been com- 
plied with and recommend that the House of Deputies adopt the following 
resolution : 

Resolved, The House of Bishops concurring, that consent be given to the 
erection of a new Diocese with the territory above stated, within the limits 
of the existing Diocese of Maryland — (Adopted by the House of Deputies, 
1895, Journal, p. 205. Concurred in by the House of Bishops, 1895, Journal, 

pp. 33, 226.) 



FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS 



FOR THE FORMATION OF NEW PARISHES AND CONGREGA- 
TIONS IN THE DIOCESE OF MARYLAND. AND FOR THEIR 
ADMISSION INTO UNION WITH THE CONVENTION. 

o 

INSTRUCTIONS. 

For the formation of New Parishes. 

Persons desiring to form a new Parish, out of parts of one. or more, exist- 
ing Parishes, shall proceed as follows : 

1st. They shall put up at the Church, or Churches and Chapels, within 
the Parish, or Parishes, out of which it is proposed to form the new Parish, 
at least three months before the meeting of the Convention 10 which applica- 
tion is intended to be made, a notice, that, at the said Convention, application 
will be made for the creation of a new Parish out of parts of said Parish or 
Parishes, which notice shall contain a description of the proposed metes and 
bounds of said new Parish. 

2d. If the Convention shall determine to grant the petition for leave to 
organize a new Parish, its action will be taken, by the passage of an Act, in 
the form given hereafter as "Form No. II." But if the Convention have 
reason to doubt of the assent of the majority of qualified persons residing in 
the proposed Parish to the erection of the same, it will take, in its discre- 
tion, proper order for ascertaining the sense of such majority; otherwise, 
the absence of dissent will be taken to imply the assent required by the Act 
of Assembly. 

3d. If the Convention shall pass the Act mentioned in the next preceding 
clause, the passage of the same shall be taken as a grant of the leave 
asked for in said petition, and as a creation of a new Parish, by the metes 
and bounds therein described. And thereafter, at some time and place, 
within the boundaries of such new Parish, a meeting, to be attended by at 
least nine persons, qualified to vote at elections of Vestrymen, shall be held, 
of which, and of the time and place, at least ten days' notice shall be given, 
by setting up a paper containing said notice, at the Churches and Chapels 
within said Parish or Parishes; at which meeting shall be elected, by a ma- 
jority of ballots, eight sober and discreet persons, as Vestrymen of the new 
Parish, to serve until the Easter Monday next following, in manner as pre- 
scribed by the Act of Assembly of 1798, ch. 24, and by the supplements 
thereto. A faithful record of the said meeting shall be made, anal certified 
by at least five of the persons attending thereat, a form for which is hereafter 
given as "Form III." 

4th. Whenever any new Parish shall have been created and organized 
according to the preceding provisions, and shall desire admission into union 
with the Convention, the said Parish shall, at least three months before the 
meeting of the Convention to which application for admission is to be made, 
place in the hands of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese, 
the certificate mentioned in the next preceding clause of these instructions, 
together with a document, signed by the eight Vestrymen, so elected as afore- 
said, declaring their assent to the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant 



FORMS AXD IXSTRUCTIOXS. 



67 



Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maryland, and their adherence to the 
doctrines, discipline, and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America, in the form given hereafter as "Form No. IV," 
and also, a petition for admission into union with the Convention, which 
shall be in the form set forth hereafter as "Form No. V." 

5th. If the Convention shall determine to grant the prayer of the said 
petition, it will'do so by the adoption of a resolution, in the form given as 
"Form No. VI." 

For the formation of New Congregations. 

Persons desiring to organize a new Congregation, within the bounds of 
any established Parish, shall proceed as follows : 

1st. They shall at least three months before the meeting of the Conven- 
tion, to which application is intended to be made, give notice, in writing, to 
the Rector, or, if there be no Rector, then to the Vestry or Churchwardens, 
of the Parish in which the new Congregation is intended to be formed, and 
if the said new Congregation be in the City of Baltimore, then also to the 
Rectors, or, if there be no Rectors, to the Vestries of the four Churches near- 
est to the location of the proposed new Congregation, that application will 
be made to said Convention for leave to organize a new Congregation 
within the bounds of said Parish. 

2d. If the Convention shall determine to grant the petition for leave to 
organize a Separate Congregation, its action will be taken by the passage 
of a resolution, in the form hereafter given as "Form No. VIII." And 
thereupon, at such time and place as shall be agreed upon by the persons so 
having obtained leave to organize said Congregation, a meeting shall be 
held, of persons so desiring to form said new Congregation, to be attended 
by at least nine persons qualified to vote at elections of Vestrymen, at 
which shall be elected by a majority of ballots, eight sober and discreet 
persons as Trustees or Vestrymen of the said new Congregation, to serve 
until the Easter Monday next succeeding, in manner, as near as possible, 
as prescribed by the Act of 1798, ch. 24, and the supplements thereto, of 
which election, and of the plan of organization, a record and schedule, in 
the form given hereafter, as "Form No. IX," shall be made in writing, certi- 
fied under the hands and seals of the Trustees or Vestrymen aforesaid, and 
acknowledged by them, or a majority of them, before a justice of the peace 
of the county or city, in which said Congregation shall have, or propose to 
have, their place of worship; and the same, after approval by a judge, shall, 
within six months thereafter, be filed for record, in the office of the clerk of 
said county or city, as the case may be. 

3d. Whenever any new Congregation shall have been organized, accord- 
ing to the preceding provisions, and shall desire admission into union with 
the Convention, the said Congregation shall, at least three months before the 
meeting of the Convention, to which application for admission is to be made, 
place in the hands of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese, 
the record and schedule mentioned in the next preceding clause, as "Form 
No. IX," or a duly certified copy thereof, together with a document, signed 
by the eight Vestrymen, so elected as aforesaid, declaring their assent to the 
Constitution and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese 
of Maryland, and their adherence to the doctrines, discipline, and worship of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America; which 
documents shall be in the form given as "Form No. IV," and also a petition 
for admission into union with said Convention in the form given hereafter 
as "Form No. X." 

4th. If the Convention shall determine to grant the prayer of said petition, 
it will do so in the form hereafter given as "Form No. XI." 



58 



FORMS AXD INSTRUCTIONS. 



FORMS. REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING 
INSTRUCTIONS 

Form No. I. 

Petition for leave to organize a new Parish. 

To the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church 

of the Diocese of Maryland: 

The undersigned, members of said Church in Farish [or Parishes], 

county [or city], respectfully ask leave, for themselves and others, 

to organize a new Parish, by the name and style of Parish, 

county [or city], lying entirely within the Parish aforesaid, [or within the 

Parish aforesaid, and Parish or Parishes, as the case may be,] and 

contained within the following metes and bounds, viz : 
Beginning, etc., [here describe it] 

And your petitioners will ever pray. etc. 

[Signed by at least five persons.] 

[Insert place and date.] 

Form No. II. 
Act creating a Separate Parish. 

Whereas. A petition has been presented, for leave to create a new Parish, 

from portions of Parish [or Parishes], to be comprised within 

the metes and bounds hereinafter specified, and it appears desirable that the 
prayer of such petition should be granted, and it further appears that all 
requisite preliminaries have been complied with ; therefore 

Be it enacted, by the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 
Diocese of Maryland', That the territory contained within the metes and 
bounds described as follows, that is to say — 

Beginning, for the same at [here give metes and bounds, as in the petition,] 
be, and the same is hereby, constituted a separate Parish, by the name and 
style of [here give name of new Parish, adding the name of the county or 
city in which it is situated], entitled to all the privileges secured to other 
Parishes in the Diocese of Maryland by the Acts of the General Assembly of 
Maryland, and the Constitution and Canons of the Church in this Diocese. 

Form No. III. 

Record of Election of Vestrymen. 

Know all men by these presents : that on this day of . nineteen 

hundred and . the members of Parish of the Protestant Episcopal 

Church, in the Diocese of Maryland, qualified to vote at elections for Ves- 
trymen thereof, have met at . nine persons so qualified to vote being 

present, for the purpose of electing Vestrymen of said Parish, to serve until 
the ensuing Easter Monday, in manner as prescribed by the Act of Assem- 
bly of Maryland of 1798, ch. 24. At which meeting the following named 
persons were elected as such Vestrymen, to wit : 

(Here follozc the names of the persons elected.) And furthermore — (here 
add any further proceedings, record of which may be desired.) 

And we. the undersigned, qualified as aforesaid, and present at such meeting 
do declare and certify that the foregoing record of proceedings is correct. 

. [Signatures of five persons.] 



FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS. 



69 



Form No. IV. 

Declaration of Assent to Constitution and Canons. 

We, the undersigned, who were duly elected Vestrymen of 

[here give name of Church, including that of the county (or city) in which 

situated,] at a meeting held for that purpose, on the day of 19 — , 

do hereby, collectively and individually, declare our assent to the Constitution 
and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maryland, 
and our adherence to the doctrines, discipline, and worship of the said 
Church in the United States of America. 

Witness our hands this day of , 19 — . 



Form Xo. V. 

Petition by a new Parish for admission into Union with the Convention. 

To the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church 

of the Diocese of Maryland: 

A new Parish having been created, at the Annual Convention of this 

Church, held in the year 19 — , by the name of Parish, in 

County [or City], and the organization of the same having been duly made, 
as will fully appear by the accompanying documents filed herewith, the un- 
dersigned, the Rector (if one), and Vestry, of said Parish respectfully ask 
that said Parish may be admitted into union with the said Convention, and 
that it may hereafter have such Clerical and Lay representation as it may 
be entitled to, under the Constitution of said Convention. 

[Signed by Rector (if one), and at least four of the Vestry.] 

Form No. VI. 

i 

Resolution admitting Parish into Union zvith Convention. 

Resolved, by the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 

Diocese of Maryland, That Parish, County [or City], be, and 

the same is, hereby admitted into union with the Convention, and shall be 
entitled to all the rights secured to Parishes by the Constitution and Canons 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this Diocese, or by the Laws, applica- 
ble to Parishes, in force in Maryland. 



Form No. VII. 

Petition for leave to organize a new Congregation. 

To the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church 

of the Diocese of Maryland: 

The undersigned, members of said Church, in Parish, 

County [or City], respectfully ask leave for themselves and others to organ- 
ize a new Congregation, in the said Parish, by the name and style of 

Church, in the County [or City], of . 

And your petitioners, as in duty, etc. 

[Signed by at least five persons ] 

[Insert place and date.] 



70 



FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS. 



Form No. VIII. 
Resolution granting leave to organize Congregation. 

Whereas, A petition has been presented by and others, for leave to 

organize a new Congregation, in Parish, County [or City], 

to be called [here give name] and it has been made to appear to this Con- 
vention that the requisite preliminaries have been complied with ; there- 
fore be it 

Resolved, By the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 
Diocese of Maryland, that leave be, and the same is, granted for the organ- 
ization of said Congregation, as prayed for. 

Form No. IX. 

Instrument for Record, and to be afterwards Hied with the Secretary of 

the Convention. 

Know all men by these presents : that on the day of , 19 — , 

[here give the names of nine persons, including the eight to be elected Vestry- 
men,} all being above the age of twenty-one years, members of a Congrega- 
tion in the Church called the Protestant Episcopal Church, which said Church 
is known and acknowledged in this State, and protected in the free exercise 
of its religion, by the Constitution and Laws thereof, in pursuance of the 
provisions of the Article of the Code of Maryland, entitled ''Corporations," 

met at for the purpose of electing eight persons, who, with the 

Rector, or Minister, of the Congregation, for the time being, are to be con- 
stituted, under the said Article, a body politic and corporate as Trustees or 
Vestrymen, in behalf of the said Congregation ; and by the name of the 
Vestry of , to have perpetual succession, and all other corporate pow- 
ers, given by the said Article, and then and there proceeded to elect the sober 
and discreet persons hereinafter named as such Trustees or Vestrymen, and 
at the same time, being the first election, determined and fixed, as prescribed 
by said Article, on the following plan, agreement and regulation, as the Con- 
stitution of the said Congregation and of the said corporation, or Vestry, viz : 

1st. This Congregation shall be called . 

2d. This Congregation, its Rector and Vestry, shall, at all times, adhere 
to the doctrine, worship, and discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in the United States of America, as set forth in its creeds, articles and liturgy ; 
and shall be, at all times, subject to the spiritual jurisdiction and authority 
of the Bishop of said Church in the Diocese of Maryland, or in case of 
alteration hereafter in the name or limits of said Diocese, to the Bishop of 
the Diocese within which the house of worship for said Congregation may be, 
and shall, as early as practicable, apply for admission into union with the 
Convention of said Church in the Diocese of Maryland, and upon such admis- 
sion, shall observe and be subject to the Constitution and Canons of the 
said Diocese. 

3d. The corporation, or Vestry, of said Congregation, shall consist of 
the Minister for the time being, who shall be styled the Rector ; and of eight 
Laymen, qualified and chosen as hereinafter prescribed, who shall be called 
Vestrymen; and the name of the Corporation shall be "The Vestry of 

," of which the Rector shall be, at all meetings attended by him, 

the President, and as such, shall have only a casting vote. 

4th. The first Vestrymen so as above elected, to wit, ■ 

shall serve until the Easter Monday next ensuing the date of these presents ; 
and until removed, as is hereinafter provided for. And on the said Easter 
Monday, and on every Easter Monday thereafter, all persons above twenty- 



FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS. 



71 



one years of age, qualified members of the said Congregation, by having been 
duly enrolled in the Registry books thereof, at least thirty days prior to the 
said day, and having contributed to the charges of said Congregation, since 
the last election, the sum of two dollars, or such other less sum, as the 
Vestry may annually, within ten days after the election, make known and 
declare, shall assemble at the house of worship of said Congregation, or such 
other place as the Vestry may, by public notice, have appointed ; and they, 
or such of them as shall assemble, shall, by a majority of ballots, put out 
four of the eight Vestrymen, whom they please ; and shall, immediately 
thereafter, elect, in like manner, four Vestrymen, from among the persons 
qualified as aforesaid, including those whom they may have voted out, all, 
or any, of whom they may elect ; and such persons, so chosen, with the re- 
maining Vestry and the Rector, shall be the Vestry, until the next election. 
And if, for any cause, any Easter Monday shall be suffered to elapse, without 
such election, as aforesaid, an election may be held, on any day thereafter, 
as provided in the thirteenth section of the Act of Assembly, passed at No- 
vember session, 1798, ch. 24, entitled an "Act for the Establishment of Ves- 
tries, etc,'' and the supplements thereto. 

5th. The duties and powers of said Vestry, in respect to the property of 
the said Congregation, and alienation of the same; to vacancies in their 
own body, occurring by refusal to serve, or otherwise; to judging at and of 
elections ; to the appointment of the Rector and other ministers, of Church- 
wardens and Register ; and to all other matters properly belonging to a 
Vestry, shall be as prescribed by the various clauses of the last-mentioned 
Act and its supplements, except as regards the oath of office of themselves, 
and those whom they may appoint, for which they may in their discretion, 
substitute a subscription in a book, to be kept for that purpose, of the proper 
parties, to a declaration of assent to this Constitution, and of adherence to 
the doctrines, discipline, and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
the United States of America. 

In testimony of all which, the undersigned, so elected as Vestrymen have 



hereunto affixed our hands and seals, this day of , A. D. 19 — . 

[Seal.] [Seal.] 
[Seal.] [Seal.] 
[Seal.] [Seal.] 
[Seal] [Seal] 

Maryland, set. 

It is hereby certified that on this day of , 19 — , before me, the 

subscriber, a Justice of the Peace 1 of said State, in and for county 

[or Baltimore City], personally appeared , who are 



known to me of my own knowledge [or by sufficient proof], to be the identical 
persons mentioned and intended, in the foregoing instrument, as Trustees or 
Vestrymen ; by whom I have been well assured that the proceedings de- 
scribed therein were duly and legally conducted; and who did afterwards 
acknowledge the said instrument of writing to be the plan, agreement and 
regulation for the government of the Congregation therein mentioned. 

j. p. 

I, , Judge of the [give title of Court], do hereby certify 

that the foregoing certificate of incorporation has been submitted to me for 
my examination, and I do further certify that the said certificate is in con- 
formity with the provisions of the law authorizing the formation of the said 
Corporation. 



1 Until 1892. c. 664, two Justices were required. 



72 



FORMS AXD INSTRUCTIONS. 



Form No. X. 

Petition by a new Congregation for Admission into Union. 

To the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church 

of the Diocese of Maryland: 

Leave having been granted, on a petition to the last Annual Convention, 

for the organization of a new Congregation, by the name and style of 

Church. County [or City], and the organization of the same having 

been duly made, as will fully appear by the documents herewith filed, the 
undersigned, the Rector and Vestry of said Congregation, respectfully ask 
that the said Congregation may be admitted into union with the Convention 
of this Diocese, and that it may hereafter have such Clerical and Lay Repre- 
sentation, as it may be entitled to, under the Constitution of the Convention. 

[Signed by the Rector (if there be one), and at least four of the Vestry.] 

[Insert date and place.] 

Form Xo. XI. 

Resolution admitting New Congregation Into Union. 

Resolved, By the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 

Diocese of Maryland, that the new Congregation formed in County 

[or City], under the name of Church, [here give name and county or 

city], be, and the same is. hereby admitted into union with this Convention, 
and shall be entitled to all the rights secured to Congregations organized 
according to the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in this Diocese. 

Form No. XII. 

Parochial Enrollment. 

We, the subscribers, male citizens of the State of Maryland, above twenty- 
one years of age. resident in Parish. County [or City], do hereby 

severally enroll ourselves as members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
in said Parish, agreeably to the provisions of the Act of Assembly, passed at 
the November session. 179S. ch. 24. entitled "An Act for the Establishment 
of Vestries for each Parish in this State." 



Subscriber's Name. 



Date of Enrollment. 



FORMS AXD INSTRUCTIONS. 



73 



Form No. XIII. 

Certificate of the appointment of Lay Delegates to the Convention. 

This is to certify that and , as his alternate, both being mem- 
bers of the Congregation, have been duly appointed by the Vestry of 

Parish [or Congregation], County [or City], (a Vestry elected by 

legally qualified members of the Protestant Episcopal Church), to repre- 
sent it in the next Convention of said Church in the Diocese of Maryland. 

Witness my hand this day of , 18 — . 

A. B., Register (or Warden). 

Declaration by Lay Delegate. 

I do hereby declare my belief in the Christian religion and attachment to 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, and profess myself a member thereof. 

Lay Delegate. 

(1887, p. 11.) Alternate. 

Form No. XIV. 

Oath of Vestrymen in addition to Oath prescribed in Sec. 6 of the 

Vestry Act. 

I do swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of 

the United States; and that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the 
State of Maryland and support the Constitution and Laws thereof. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND 

ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [1867.] 

Article 38. That every gift, sale or devise of land, to any Minister, Public 
Teacher or Preacher of the Gospel, as such, or to any Religious Sect, Order 
or Denomination, or to, or for the support, use or benefit of, or in trust 
for, any Minister. Public Teacher or Preacher of the Gospel, as such, or any 
Religious Sect, Order, or Denomination ; and every gift or sale of goods, 
or chattels, to go in succession, or to take place after the death of the seller 
or donor, to or for such support, use, or benefit ; and also every devise of 
goods or chattels to or for the support, use. or benefit, of any Minister, Public 
Teacher or Preacher of the Gospel, as such, or any Religious Sect, Order, or 
Denomination, without the prior, or subsequent, sanction of the Legislature, 
shall be void ; except always, any sale, gift, lease or devise of any quantity of 
land, not exceeding live acres, for a church, meeting-house, or other house 
of worship, or parsonage, or for a burying-ground, which shall be improved, 
enjoyed, or used only for such purpose ; or such sale, gift, lease, or devise 
shall be void. 

o 

ACTS OF ASSEMBLY. 

VESTRIES. 
1793— Chapter 24. 

An Act for the Establishment of l~estries for each Parish in this State. 1 
Whereas, It is represented to this General Assembly, that the Act for the 
establishment of Select Vestries, and the supplements thereto, are inadequate 
to the exigencies of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State, for which 
the said Acts were intended to provide. 

II. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Ves- 
tries shall be chosen for each Parish within this State, in the following man- 
ner : Every free white male citizen of this State, above twenty-one years of 
age. resident of the Parish where he offers to vote six months next preceding 
the day of election, who shall have been entered 2 on the books of said Parish 

1 See Bartlett vs. Hipkins, 76 Md. Rep. 31. Brayshaw vs. Ridout, 7 Md. 454. 

2 See Act of 1823, c. 1S9, post, and Resolution 42. 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



75 



one month at least preceding the day of election as a member of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, and who shall also contribute to the charges of the said 
Parish in which he offers to vote such sum as a majority of the Vestry in 
each Parish shall annually, within ten days after their election, in writing, 
make known and declare, not exceeding two dollars, shall have a right of 
suffrage in the election of Vestrymen for such Parish ; and all persons so 
qualified shall, on the next ensuing Easter Monday, assemble in their re- 
spective Parishes, at their Parish Church, or if there shall be two or more 
Protestant Episcopal Churches in any Parish, at the Church first built therein, 
or if there be in any Parish no such Church, then at such other place as the 
Rector of the Parish, or if there be no Rector, as any three or more Vestry- 
men, may have publicly notified to the parishioners, and the said persons, so 
qualified to vote, when assembled, or such of them as may assemble in each 
Parish, shall proceed, by a majority of votes, to elect, by ballot, eight Ves- 
trymen, from among the persons qualified to vote, who, with the Rector of the 
Parish for the time being, shall be deemed and considered the Vestry of the 
said Parish for the ensuing year, and the Rector of the Parish shall always 
be one of the Vestry. 

III. And be it enacted, That the Register of the Parish shall, and it is 
hereby declared to be his duty, to enroll any person of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, who shall apply for the purpose, on the books of the Parish, 
under the penalty of eight dollars, and he shall be authorized to demand 
and receive the sum of six cents for each and every such enrollment. 

IV. And, to perpetuate the Vestry in each Parish, Be it enacted, That 
on refusal to serve, resignation, death, or removal from the Parish, with a 
view to reside elsewhere, or on legal discharge from serving, or any other 
disqualification of any person chosen a Vestryman, the Rector (if any), or, 
if no Rector, any two of the Vestry, or of those persons who last possessed 
the powers of Vestrymen, shall, with all convenient speed, appoint a gen- 
eral meeting of the parishioners entitled to suffrage as aforesaid, at the Par- 
ish Church or elsewhere, as hereinbefore mentioned ; and at such meeting, 
such of them as shall assemble shall proceed, by a majority of votes, to fill 
up such vacancy or vacancies from among the persons qualified to vote, as 
hereinbefore provided; 1 and on every Easter Monday forever, after the first 
election as hereinbefore directed, the parishioners entitled to suffrage shall 
assemble, as hereinbefore prescribed, and they, or such of them as may 
assemble, shall, by a majority of votes, put out four of the eight Vestrymen 
whom they please, and shall immediately thereafter elect, by ballot, four 
Vestrymen from among the persons qualified to vote, including those whom 
they have voted out, all or any of whom they may re-elect; and such persons 
so chosen, with the remaining Vestrymen and the Rector 2 shall be the Vestry 
for the ensuing year. 

1 Vestries are now authorized to fill up vacancies occurring in their own bodies. — See 
Act of 1828, c. 136. 

2 See Act of 1802, c. 105, and 1803, c. 46, and 1858, c. 300, relating to St. Peter's Church. 
Baltimore. 



76 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



V. And be it enacted, That the Vestrymen of each Parish, or a majority 
of those who shall attend, shall judge of the election of Vestrymen, and of the 
qualification of voters, and of the qualification of the parishioners proposed 
to be elected as Vestrymen. 

VI. And be it enacted, That every person chosen a Vestryman shall, be- 
fore he acts as such, take and subscribe the oath of support and fidelity 
required by the Constitution and form of government, 1 unless such person 
hath before taking such oath, and also make and subscribe a declaration of 
his belief in the Christian religion, and he shall also take and subscribe the 
following oath of office, to wit: "I, A. B., do solemnly swear, that I will 

faithfully execute the Office of a Vestryman of Parish, in 

county, without prejudice, favor, or affection, according to the best of my 
skill and knowledge;" which oaths and declarations, any justice of the peace, 
or any Vestryman present, may administer and take. 

VII. And be it enacted, That the first Monday in February, May, August, 
and November, in each year, shall be the days on which a Vestry shall be 
held in every Parish, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, at the place at which 
Vestry elections are directed by this Act to be held, without any notice 
thereof, 2 and every Vestry may also hold adjourned or special meetings at 
such times and places as they may agree upon; at any which time or place, 
any four Vestrymen, together with the Rector, if he shall attend, if not, by 
any four without him, shall be a sufficient quorum for the transaction of any 
business whatever, which they are authorized to do by this Act; and whatso- 
ever shall be thus done by a majority of such quorum, or of the members at- 
tending, if more than above directed, shall be valid and obligatory as if done 
by the whole Vestry; Provided always, That due notice of all adjourned and 
special meetings shall be given to all the members of the Vestry. 

VIII. And be it enacted, That the Rector of each Parish for the time 
being shall preside in the Vestry, collect the votes, and shall, upon an equal 
division of those present, have a vote, except in cases in which he is in 
any manner particularly interested, and he shall have, except he may other- 
wise contract with the Vestry, the possession, occupation, and free use of all 
the glebe-lands, houses, ground rents, books and other property belonging 
to his Parish, and be entitled to the benefits thereof during the time he shall 
officiate therein as Rector. 

IX. And be it enacted, That the Vestry of each Parish, for the time being, 
as Trustees of the Parish, shall have an estate in fee simple in all Churches 
and Chapels, and in all glebes, and other lands, and shall have a good title 
and estate in all other property heretofore belonging to the Church of Eng- 
land, or which shall hereafter belong to the said Church, now called the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, in Maryland, and it shall be lawful for such 
Vestry so to manage and direct all such property as they may think most 
advantageous to the interests of the parishioners, and they shall also have 

1 See Form No. XIV. 

2 Now not necessary; see Act of 1828, c. 136, section 3. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



the property in all books, plate and other ornaments belonging to said 
Churches and Chapels, or any of them. 

X. And be it enacted, That if any Rector shall commit any waste on any 
glebe-land, or other land belonging to the Vestry of his Parish, or if he 
shall do any injury to his parsonage, or to his Parish library, he shall be 
liable to pay treble damages, to be recovered of him by the Vestry in their 
corporate name, in the same manner as if he was not one of the Vestry. 

XI. And be it enacted, That on every Easter Monday, immediately after 
the election of Vestrymen, the Vestry shall proceed to choose from among 
the persons qualified to vote, two sober, discreet, and pious persons, to be 
Churchwardens for the ensuing year, and before they act as such, they shall 
take and subscribe the oath of fidelity, and make and subscribe the declara- 
tion hereinbefore prescribed to be taken by Vestrymen, and also an oath, 
that they will faithfully discharge the duties of a Churchwarden. 

XII. And be it enacted, That every Churchwarden shall have power to 
keep the peace and also preserve order and decency in his respective Church 
or Chapels ; and it shall be lawful for any Churchwarden to apprehend any 
person guilty of any breach of the peace, or of any disorderly conduct, or 
making a noise in any Church or Chapel, or in the Church or Chapel-yard, 
or other enclosure, so as to disturb the Congregation, and to turn such per- 
son out of the Church, Chapel-yard or other enclosure thereto belonging; 
and it shall be the duty of any person (who may be called upon) to assist 
the Churchwarden in the before-mentioned duties. 1 

XIII. And be it enacted, That if, from any cause whatever, those per- 
sons qualified to vote in any Parish should suffer Easter Monday to elapse 
without any election of Vestrymen, then the said election may be held on 
any other day appointed for the purpose, at any time after, although it may 
be in any subsequent year, of which day notice shall be given by the Rector 
(if any) in his Church, immediately after divine service, on two succeeding 
Sundays, and if no Rector, by any two Vestrymen, or of those persons 
who last possessed the powers of Vestrymen, by writing set up at the door 
of the Church ten days before the day of meeting. 

XIV. And be it enacted, If Churchwardens should not from any cause 
be chosen by the Vestry on the day of the election of Vestrymen, it shall 
and may be lawful to choose them at any subsequent meeting of the Vestry, 
and such elections shall be held valid and obligatory. 

XV. And be it enacted, That the Vestry of every Parish shall have full 
power and authority from time to time to choose one or more Ministers or 
readers of the Protestant Episcopal Church (heretofore called the Church 
of England), to officiate in any Church or Chapel belonging to the Parish, 
and to perform the other duties of a Minister therein, for such time as the 
said Vestry may think proper, and they may agree and contract with such 

1 The 11th Section of "Act to incorporate certain persons in every Christian Church or 
Congregation," 1802, c. Ill, repeals so much of this Act as confers the powers of civil 
officers of the peace on Churchwardens. 



78 



LAWS OF MARY LA XD OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



Minister or Ministers, reader or readers, for his or their salary, and respect- 
ing the use and occupation of the parsonage-house, or any glebe or other 
lands, or other property, if any, belonging to the Parish, and on such terms 
and conditions as they may think reasonable and proper, and their choice 
and contract shall be entered among their proceedings ; and upon the expira- 
tion of such contract, the said Vestry may, in their discretion, renew their 
choice, or make a new contract, but if they do not incline so to do, their 
former choice and contract shall remain until they declare their desire to 
make a new choice or contract. 

XVI. And be it enacted, That if only one Minister shall be chosen for 
any Parish, he shall be called the Rector thereof, but where two or more 
Ministers shall be chosen of the same order in the Ministry, they shall be 
called associated Rectors of such Parish, and shall preside in the Vestry 
by rotation ; and if any Parish in which there shall, at any time, be more 
than one Minister regularly settled, and either of them of superior order 
in the Ministry, such superior Minister shall have the sole right of presiding 
in the Vestry, and be called the Rector thereof, and the other or others shall 
be called associated Ministers of such Parish. 1 

XVII. And be it enacted, If the Vestry of any Parish should think it 
necessary to take in subscriptions for the maintenance of their Minister or 
Ministers, reader or readers, or for paying the salaries of such other officers 
as the occasions of the Parish may require to be appointed, or for any other 
Parish purposes, it shall, and may, be lawful for them so to do. 

XVIII. And be it enacted, That the Vestry of every Parish shall be, and 
they are hereby, obliged to provide a fit person as Register of their Parish, 
whose duty it shall be to keep true and fair entries of the proceedings of 
such Vestry in the execution of their trust, which Register also shall, before 
he acts as such, take and subscribe the oath of fidelity hereinbefore men- 
tioned (unless he shall have before taken such oath), and make and subscribe 
a declaration of his belief in the Christian religion, as also take an oath for 
the due and faithful execution of the duties of his office, to be administered 
as hereinbefore directed. 

XIX. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said Register 
to enter in a book provided for the purpose, all baptisms, marriages and 
funerals, of free persons in the Parish by any Minister of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, and which may be made known to him by any of the 
said Ministers or Vestrymen of the Parish ; and it shall also be the duty 
of the said Register, in the entry of baptisms, to insert the Christian names 
of the persons baptized, the Christian and surnames of the parents, with 
the dates of the baptisms and births of the persons baptized, and in the 
entry of marriages and burials to insert the times of the celebration, and 
the Christian and surnames of the persons married, and the persons buried; 
and it shall be the duty of the Minister or Ministers of every Parish to take 
care that the said Register be made acquainted with all the baptisms, mar- 
riages and burials, celebrated by him or them in the Parish. 



1 See Act of 1827, c. 20. 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 79 



XX. And be it enacted, That if any Minister of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church shall celebrate any baptism, marriage or burial, in any Parish in which 
he may not be a settled Minister, he is hereby required to communicate it to 
the Rector, or some one of the Vestry, of the Parish, who shall communicate 
it to the Register of said Parish. 

XXI. And be it enacted, That if any Minister or Vestryman shall fail in 
the duties herein respectively assigned them, or if any Register shall refuse 
or neglect to enter any baptism, marriage or burial, so made known to him, 
the person offending shall forfeit eight dollars for every such offence. 

XXII. And be it enacted, That the Register of every Parish shall have 
the custody of all registers of baptisms, marriages and burials, belonging to 
his Parish, and he is hereby obliged to show any person or persons, reason- 
ably desiring it, any such Register, or give a certificate of the entry of any 
birth, marriage or burial, entered therein, which may be desired of him, and 
such certificate, under the hand of such Register, and with the common seal 
of such Vestry annexed thereto, shall be received in evidence in all courts 
of justice within this State; 1 and for every search which may be required he 
shall be entitled to twenty-five cents, and for every certificate as aforesaid 
he shall be entitled to twenty-five cents, nor shall he be obliged to make a 
search or give a certificate, until he shall have been paid the reward before 
allowed. 

XXIII. And be it enacted, That if any Vestry shall neglect or refuse to 
appoint a Register for their Parish, or to provide him with such good and 
substantial books as the execution of the duties herein committed to him 
may require, the individual Vestryman who shall vote against going into 
the appointment of a person to fill the office of Register, or shall refuse to 
vote on the question of said appointment, or against the provision of good 
substantial books as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars 
each for every time he shall offend, or vote as aforesaid, the said fine to be 
recovered before a single magistrate ; Provided always, That the Vestryman 
so offending may, in all cases, allege before said magistrate, such excuse or 
excuses as he may think sufficient to relieve him from the payment of the 
fine as aforesaid. 

XXIV. And be it enacted, That whenever special meetings of the Vestry 
shall be necessary, the Rector shall call them ; but if there be no Rector, or if 
he shall be absent, or refuse or neglect to call a meeting, then any two of 
the Vestry agreeing so to do may summon a special Vestry. 

XXV. And, the better to secure the attendance of members of the Ves- 
try, Be it enacted, That no Vestryman shall absent himself from any stated 
meeting, or from a special or adjourned meeting, of which he may be duly 
notified, without such excuse as the rest of the Vestry will allow, under a 
penalty not less than two or exceeding eight dollars. 

XXVI. And be it enacted, That if any person elected a Vestryman, agree- 
able to this Act, shall, after convenient notice given him by the Register of 

1 See Supplement to this Act, 1833, c. 197. 



80 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



the Parish, who is hereby required to give him such notice under the 
penalty of twenty dollars, refuse to serve as a Vestryman, according to the 
provisions herein made, without alleging such an excuse as the residue of the 
Vestry will allow, unless he shall have heretofore served two years, or been 
voted out at a former Vestry election, or if any person elected a Church- 
warden, who has not before served in that office within the last three years, 
shall, after the same notice, refuse to serve as such, or, having been qualified 
shall retire from his office without the consent of the Vestry before the time 
for which he was elected shall have expired ; unless he shall have been dis- 
qualified for remaining a Churchwarden, the former shall forfeit twenty dol- 
lars, and the latter ten dollars. 

XXVII. And be 'it enacted, That all fines and penalties by this Act imposed 
shall be recoverable before any justice of the peace, and applied to the use 
of the Parish, in such manner as the Vestry may direct. 

XXVIII. And be it enacted, That the Vestrymen of every Parish in this 
State for the time being, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, one 
community, corporation and body politic forever, by the name of the Vestry 
of the Parish to which they severally belong, and by the same name they, 
and their successors, shall and may have perpetual succession, and shall and 
may, at all times hereafter, be persons able and capable in law to purchase, 
take and hold, to them and their successors, in fee, or for any less estate or 
estates, any lands, tenements, hereditaments, rents or annuities within this 
State, by the gift, bargain, sale or devise, of any person or persons, bodies 
politic and corporate, capable of making the same, and such lands, tenements, 
hereditaments, to rent or lease, in such a manner as they may judge most 
conducive to the interests of their respective Parishes, and also to take and 
receive any sum or sums of money, and any kind of goods and chattels, 
which may or shall be given, sold, or bequeathed unto them, by any person 
or persons, bodies politic or corporate, capable to make a gift, sale or be- 
quest thereof, and to apply the same for the use of their respective Parishes 
as hereinbefore directed ; Provided, That the clear yearly value of the estate of 
any Vestry (exclusive of the rents of pews, collections in Churches, funeral 
charges, and the like) shall not exceed two thousand dollars. 

XXIX. And be it enacted, That no Vestry shall sell, alien, or transfer, 
any of their estates, or property belonging to their Church or Churches, 
without the consent of five at least of their body (of which number the 
Rector shall always be one), together with the consent of both the Church- 
wardens, and in case there be no Rector in the Parish, then it shall be neces- 
sary to obtain the consent of the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in this State for the time being, previous to any sale, alienation, or transfer, 
of any of the estates or property aforesaid. 

XXX. And be it enacted, That no Vestry shall apply any of the principal 
of the money arising from the sales of any of the estates or property afore- 
said towards any debt or debts contracted with their Minister on account 
of his official duties. 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 81 



XXXI. And be it enacted, That nothing hereinbefore contained shall be 
construed to prevent the Vestry of any Parish from buying at any time a 
lot of land, not exceeding two acres, for a burial ground, or a site for a 
Church or parsonage-house, or from selling or renting the pews of their 
Churches or Chapels, provided in so doing the said Vestry shall not inter- 
fere with any existing right or title in any person to any pew or pews. 

XXXII. And be it enacted, That the Vestry of every Parish, and their 
successors (by the name aforesaid), shall be forever hereafter able and 
capable in law to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be 
answered unto, defend and be defended, in all or any courts of justice, and 
before all or any judges, officers, or other persons whatsoever, in all and sin- 
gular actions, matters and demands whatsoever ; and that it shall and may be 
lawful for them, and their successors, forever hereafter, to have a common 
seal for their use, and the same, at the will and pleasure of them, and their 
successors, to change, alter, break and make anew, from time to time, as they 
shall think best. 

XXXIII. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Convention 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State to divide or unite Parishes, 
as occasion may require, and to alter their bounds, and to constitute new 
Parishes ; and Vestrymen and Churchwardens of such new Parishes shall 
be chosen as hereinbefore provided, and shall have perpetual succession, and 
be incorporated by the name of the Vestry of such new Parish, and, such 
Vestry and Churchwardens shall have all the powers hereby granted in this 
Act to other Vestrymen and Churchwardens ; Provided always, That a major- 
ity of the members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, qualified to vote for 
Vestrymen, residing in any Parish, or part or parts of a Parish or Parishes, 
proposed to be added to any new Parish or Parishes, or to be constituted 
into a new Parish, shall consent thereto. 

XXXIV. And be it enacted, That immediately after the election of Ves- 
trymen, on the next ensuing Easter Monday, as hereinbefore directed, the 
Act entitled, An Act for the establishment of Select Vestries, 1 and all the 
supplementary Acts thereto, shall be and hereby are repealed. 



1823— Chapter 189. 

A supplement to the Act for the establishment of Vestries for each Parish 

in this State. 

Whereas, The Act to which this is a supplement does not provide for the 
election of a Vestry in any Parish, in which there may not be persons 
enrolled as in that Act is directed; therefore 

Section l. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That 
from and after the passage of this Act, it shall and may be lawful for any 
two or more members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in any Parish in 



1 1779, c. 9. 



82 LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



this State, in which there shall be no Vestry, to call a meeting of the mem- 
bers of said Church at the Parish Church, or if there shall be no Parish 
Church, at any convenient place in such Parish, first giving ten days' notice 
of the time and place of such meeting by advertisement in writing set up at 
the most public places in such Parish, and the members of said Church when 
so convened shall have power to elect a Chairman and Secretary, the former 
to preside at such meeting, and to determine who of the members con- 
vened shall be entitled to vote, and the latter to record or take minutes of 
the proceedings, and the said meeting shall thereupon elect by ballot eight 
of the most religious and intelligent members of such Church as Vestrymen. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted. That the persons so elected shall, within ten 
days after their election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, meet and qualify 
in the manner now prescribed for other Vestrymen, and shall thereafter be 
considered the Vestry of such Parish until the next Easter Monday, and as 
such shall have power to elect Churchwardens and a Register and to do all 
other acts which the Vestries can lawfully do. 



1827— Chapter 20. 

A supplement to the Act entitled an Act for the establishment of Vestries 
for each Parish in this State. 

Whereas. Experience has shown that associated Rectorships, as provided 
for by the sixteenth section of the Act, to which this is a supplement, are not 
in all cases expedient. 

Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That from 
and after the passage of this Act. it shall and may be lawful for the Vestry 
of any Parish or Church or united Churches or Congregations within this 
State, where the ministrations of two or more Clergymen may be deemed 
necessary or convenient, to elect and call such Clergymen, or any of them, 
either as Rector, Associate Minister, or Assistant Minister, or by such other 
appellation as said Vestry may think advisable, and designate the powers and 
duties to be exercised and discharged by such Clergymen or any of them. 



1828— Chapter 136, Section 3. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted. That in future the Vestries of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in this State shall not be obliged to meet on any stated 
days, or at any particular place, but only at such times and places as they 
may find most convenient ; and if any vacancy happens in the Vestry after 
their election, or any one elected shall refuse to serve, then the other mem- 
bers shall have the power to appoint a new member or members, as the case 
may be, to serve till the next succeeding annual election. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 83 



1833— Chapter 196. 

A supplement to the Act entitled an Act for the establishment of Vestries 
for each Parish in this State. 

WHEREAS, By the Act to which this is a supplement, passed at November 
session, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight, chapter twenty-four, the Reg- 
ister? of Parishes are authorized to give certificates of the entry of any birth, 
marriage, or burial, entered in the register books of their respective Par- 
ishes, under the hand of such Register, and with the common seal of such 
Vestry annexed thereto, which shall be received in evidence in all courts of 
justice within this State; and 

Whereas, Many of the Vestries have neglected to procure a common 
seal; therefore, 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That wherever the 
Vestry of any Parish has neglected to procure a common seal, and until 
such common seal be procured, the Register of such Parish is authorized to 
give a certificate of the entry of any birth, marriage, or burial entered in 
the books of said Vestry, under the hand of such Register, which shall be 
received in evidence in all courts of justice in this State; Provided, never- 
theless. The said certificate is accompanied with a certificate of the Clerk of 
the County Court of the county in which said Register resides, under the 
seal of said County Court, that he knows of his own knowledge, or that it 
hath been proven to his satisfaction, that the person subscribing himself as 
Register of such Parish, is in fact the Register as stated, and that the said 
certificate was subscribed by said Register. 



CONVENTION. 

1840— Chapter 67. [Passed, Feb. 13, 1841.] 

An Act to incorporate the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
of the Diocese of Maryland for the purposes therein mentioned. 

Whereas, The members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in Maryland, 
have subscribed for and raised a fund for the permanent support of the 
Episcopate of said Church ; and, 

Whereas Also, The Convention of the said Church, which by the Consti- 
tution thereof is entrusted with the administration of its concerns, has no legal 
authority to receive, invest, or dispose of said fund or the proceeds arising 
therefrom, and to that end have asked that a law may be passed incorporating 
the said Convention, for the purpose alone of administering the said funds, 
according to the design of said contributors : 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
persons who now constitute, and may hereafter constitute the Convention 



84 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, shall be, 
and they are hereby, incorporated and made a body corporate and politic, 
by the name of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 
Diocese of Maryland, and by that name they and their successors to be 
elected, appointed, and qualified according to the form and effect of the 
constitution of the said Church for the time being, shall have perpetual suc- 
cession, and by that name be capable of suing and being sued in any court of 
law or equity in this State, and shall have and use a common seal, and the 
same break, alter and renew at pleasure, and shall have and exercise such 
other powers as shall or may be necessary or proper, to carry into effect the 
objects of the incorporation. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the said corporation shall have full power 
and authority to take and hold subscriptions or contributions in money or 
otherwise, for the purpose of creating a permanent fund for the support of 
the Episcopate in said Diocese, and the same to invest, and the proceeds 
thereof to apply for the purpose aforesaid, as may from time to time be 
deemed most expedient, and shall likewise have full power and authority 
to appoint an executive committee or other trustees, by whatever name or 
names they ma}' be designated, to administer said fund in such manner and 
form, and with such authority as the said corporation shall from time to 
time prescribe; Provided, however, That the expenses of administering said 
fund, the salary of the Bishop, and other charges thereon, shall be payable 
and paid only out of the annual interest, dividends or profits of said fund ; 
and that the principal sum or amount of such contributions and subscrip- 
tions shall be at all times kept invested in some safe and profitable stocks, 
mortgages, or other securities. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That if this Act shall be accepted by the Con- 
vention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of this Diocese, at their next 
annual meeting, the said Convention shall proceed to adopt such rules and 
regulations in regard to the said fund, and its administration, as to the said 
Convention may seem expedient. 1 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That nothing herein contained shall enlarge, 
restrict, or in any manner affect the power or authority which the said Con- 
vention now hath, or may exercise or claim over the said Church in this 
Diocese, or the members thereof, but all such powers and authorities which 
are or may be claimed or exercised, shall remain in like condition, and none 
other, as if this Act had not been passed. 

Sec. 5. And be it enacted. That this Act shall be, and the same is hereby, 
declared to be void and of no effect, unless it shall be accepted by the said 
Convention, at its next annual meeting, and a certificate or act of such ac- 
ceptance, filed with the Secretary of State, in three months thereafter. 1 

1 This Act was accepted by the Convention on 27th of May, 1841, and a certificate of 
such acceptance was filed with the Secretary of State immediately thereafter. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 85 



1856— Chapter 17. 

An Act amendatory of the Act incorporating the Convention of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of Maryland, passed at December Ses- 
sion, eighteen hundred and forty, chapter sixty-seven, authorising the said 
Convention to take and hold subscriptions or contributions in money, or 
otherwise, for religious or charitable purposes. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
corporate powers and privileges conferred upon the Convention of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maryland by the original Act 
to which this is an amendment, shall be and the same are hereby extended 
to enable the said Convention to take and hold subscriptions or contributions 
in money or" otherwise, which may be made to or in behalf of the various as- 
sociations for religious or charitable purposes, now existing or hereafter to 
exist in the several counties of this State and in the City of Baltimore, under 
the sanction of said Convention, and to appoint, in its discretion, executive 
committees or other trustees, by whatever name or names they may be desig- 
nated, for administering the respective funds so arising as aforesaid, in such 
manner and form and with such authority as the said Convention may from 
time to time prescribe ; Provided always, That in such administration the re- 
spective funds shall be kept distinct and separate, and that each fund shall be 
held liable only for obligations that may have been incurred in its own proper 
behoof. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect from the day 
when an official certificate of its acceptance by the said Convention shall be 
filed with the Secretary of State. 1 



1878— Chapter 403. 

An Act to explain certain corporate powers and privileges heretofore con- 
ferred, and also to confer additional corporate powers and privileges upon 
the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Mary- 
land, by authorizing it to receive by gift, devise or otherzvise, contributions 
in money, land or other property, and to hold the same for the purposes 
therein mentioned. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
corporate powers and privileges conferred upon the Convention of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, by the Act amend- 
atory of the original Act for the incorporation of said Convention, passed at 
December session, eighteen hundred and forty, chapter sixty-seven, and which 
said amendatory Act was passed at January session, eighteen hundred and fifty- 
six, chapter seventeen, be and the same are hereby explained and extended 

1 This Act was accepted by the Convention of 1856, and a certificate of said acceptance 
was filed immediately thereafter with the Secretary of State. 



86 LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



so as to enable the said Convention to receive by gift, devise or otherwise, 
contributions in money, lands or other property, and to hold the same for 
burial grounds, Church Colleges, Church or Parish Schools, for the support of 
missionaries and mission work, for building, adorning or repairing Churches 
or Mission Chapels, and for such other general or special religious or charita- 
ble work or agencies within the said Diocese, and now or hereafter under the 
jurisdiction, control or sanction of the said Convention, as may be designated 
by the donor, with the same power in regard to the administration of the 
respective funds so arising, and subject to the same proviso contained in the 
amendatory Act above mentioned. 

SEC. 2. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect from the day 
when an official certificate of its acceptance by said Convention shall be filed 
with the Secretary of State; Provided, however, That this Act shall not be so 
construed as to interfere with the rights of any person under a proper legal 
construction of any Act or law in force at the time of the passage of this Act. 1 



COLLEGE OF ST. JAMES. 
1843 — Chapter 253. 

An Act to incorporate a Literary Institution in Washington County, under 
the name of the College of St. James. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That Fred- 
erick Dorsey, Thomas Buchanan, John R. Dall, William Rollinson Whitting- 
ham, Theodore B. Lyman, John B. Kerfoot, Reuben Riley, Russel Trevet, 
Dwight E. Lyman, and their successors, being members of and attached to 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland, shall be, and they are hereby, 
constituted a corporation or body politic, by the name of the Trustees of the 
College of St. James, and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and 
may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and may purchase and hold 
property, whether acquired by purchase, gift, or devise, and whether real or per- 
sonal or mixed, and may make and have a corporate seal, and the same break 
and alter at their pleasure, and shall have all other rights belonging to similar 
corporations by the laws of this State. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the object of said association is hereby 
declared to be the promotion of Christian and liberal education. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the entire management of the affairs and 
concerns of said corporation and College, and all the corporate powers hereby 
granted, shall be, and are hereby, vested in a board of nine Trustees, resident 
within this State; the persons named in the first section of this act shall be 
the first trustees. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That the majority of the Trustees shall have 
power from time to time to enact by-laws for the regulation and manage- 

1 This Act was accepted by the Convention of 1878, and an official certificate thereof 
filed with the Secretary of State. 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 87 



ment of the affairs and concerns of said corporation and College, for filling 
up vacancies in the board occasioned by death, resignation, removal from the 
State or otherwise, as may be provided for by the by-laws, and also to pre- 
scribe the number and description, duties and powers of the officers, the 
manner of their election, and the term of their offices. 

Sec. 5. And be it enacted, That for the purpose of carrying out the object 
declared in the second section of this Act, or for any purpose connected there- 
with, the said corporation shall have power, from time to time, to purchase, 
take and hold, real and personal estate, and to sell, lease, and dispose of the 
same ; Provided, That the net annual value shall not exceed fifteen thousand 
dollars. 

Sec. 6. And be it enacted, That the said corporation shall have and pos- 
sess the right and power of conferring the usual academical degrees. 

Sec. 7. And be it enacted, That this charter shall be revocable at any 
time hereafter by the Legislature of this State. 

Sec. 8. And be it enacted, That the Trustees and Faculty of said College 
shall make a yearly report of the state of the institution to the Governor of 
the State, to be by him laid before the Legislature. 



1846— Chapter 172. 
An Act relating to the College of St. lames in Washington County. 
[In regard to the sale of liquor within two miles of the College.] 



1858— Chapter 381. 

An Act supplementary to the Act of December Session, eighteen hundred and 
forty-three, chapter tzvo hundred and fifty-three, entitled an Act to incor- 
porate a Literary Institution in Washington County, under the name of the 
College of St. lames. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
third section of the Act, to which this is a supplement, be amended so as to 
read as follows: "And be it enacted, That the entire management of the 
affairs and concerns of the said corporation and College, and all the corporate 
powers hereby granted shall be, and they are hereby, vested in a Board of 
nine Trustees, seven of whom shall always be residents of this State, and the 
persons named in the first section of this Act shall be the first Trustees." 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the Trustees shall have power to estab- 
lish said corporation in any county within this State, and to remove the 
same from county to county in this State as often as to them shall seem 
expedient and advisable. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect as soon as the 
said corporation shall signify its acceptance of the same, by writing, under 
its corporate seal, filed with the Governor of this State, to be by him pre- 
served among its executive records. 



88 LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



ST. PETER'S CHURCH.. BALTIMORE. 

1802— Chapter 105. 

An Act to authorize the building of a Protestant Episcopal Church, within 
the City of Baltimore, by the name of St. Peter s Church, and for other 
purposes. 

* ******* 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That when the said Church shall be so built as 
to admit of Divine worship to be performed therein, that the said Jeremiah 
Yellott, John Scott, William Jolly, Hezekiah Waters, Josias Pennington, 
Simon Wilmer of Edward, and James Corrie, and the survivors or survivor 
of them, shall, by advertisement in the different newspapers in the City of 
Baltimore, notify the subscribers thereto, professing themselves members of 
the said Church, to assemble and meet together in the said Church, thirty 
days at least after such notification, for proceeding to the election of a Vestry 
to the said Church. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That the said subscribers, professing them- 
selves members of the said Church, or so many of them as shall then and 
there assemble and meet together, shall proceed to elect, by ballot, by a 
majority of votes, nine Vestrymen, from among the members of the said 
Church, who shall be deemed and considered the Vestry of the said Church 
for the ensuing year. 

Sec. 5. And be it enacted. That when the said Vestry shall be thus elected, 
that they shall have and enjoy every right, power, benefit, privilege, and in- 
dulgence, that is given or granted to, used, or enjoyed by any other Vestry 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church within the State of Maryland. 

* ******* 

Sec. 7. And be it enacted, That after the said first election of the Vestry 
to the said Church shall have been made as herein directed, the subscribers 
to and members of said Church, contributing to and attendants on the same, 
and being free white male citizens, shall annually, on Easter Monday, meet 
in said Church, and elect nine Vestrymen for the ensuing year, by a majority 
of votes, by ballot. 1 



1803— Chapter 45. 

A supplement to the Act. entitled An Act to authorize the building of a 
Protestant Episcopal Church within the City of Baltimore, by the name 
of St. Peter's Church, and for other purposes, passed at Xovember ses- 
sion, 1802. 

Section 3. And be it enacted, That the Vestry of the said Church, for the 
time being, may impose such annual rent on each and every pew in the said 

1 Repealed in part by Act 1858, c. 300, Sec. 1. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



89 



Church for the support of the Minister of the said Church, and for other inci- 
dental expenses, as they may think proper; Provided always, That the said 
Vestry shall not impose such rent or charge on any pew before the same 
shall be sold by the said Trustees, or all debts by them contracted, and sums 
of money by them advanced for the purposes aforesaid, shall be paid and dis- 
charged. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That the Vestry of the said Church shall not 
appoint or agree with a Minister to officiate in the said Church for a longer 
time than one year, but they may re-elect or re-appoint the same Minister 
from time to time. 1 

Sec. 10. And be it enacted, That after the first election of a Vestry to 
the said Church, no person shall be entitled to vote for a Vestryman for said 
Church but free white male citizens, twenty-one years of age, holding a pew 
or half pew, in the said Church, and professing themselves members of the 
same. 

Sec. 12. And be it enacted, That any Vestry of the said Church, for the 
time being, may purchase the fee of the lot on which the Church is built, 
and the fee of the lot of land purchased, or which may hereafter be pur- 
chased, for a burial ground, if the same shall not in the first instance be 
purchased in fee. 



1858— Chapter 300. 

An Act relating to the Vestry of St. Peter's Church in the City of 

Baltimore. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That so 
much of the seventh section of an Act entitled "An Act to authorize the 
building of a Protestant Episcopal Church, in the City of Baltimore, by the 
name of St. Peter's Church, and for other purposes," passed November ses- 
sion, eighteen hundred and two, chapter one hundred and five, as requires the 
election of nine Vestrymen for St. Peter's Church, shall be and is hereby 
repealed. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That from and after the first Easter Monday 
following the acceptance of this Act by the Vestry of said Church, the Vestry 
thereof shall consist of the Rector, who shall be President thereof, and of 
eight Laymen, to be chosen in the same manner as the nine are now chosen. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the fourth section of an Act entitled "A 
supplement to the Act entitled An Act to authorize the building of a Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church within the City of Baltimore, by the name of St. 
Peter's Church, and for other purposes/' passed at November session, eigh- 
teen hundred and three, chapter forty-five, be and the same is hereby repealed. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That this Act shall go into effect so soon as it 
shall be accepted by the Vestry of the said Church, and a certificate of such 
acceptance filed with the Secretary of State. 



1 Repealed by Act of 1858, c. 300, Sec. 3. 



90 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



1805— Chapter 6. 

An Act for the Establishment of a School in the City of Baltimore. 

Whereas. The Reverend George Dashiell, Rector of St. Peter's Protestant 
Episcopal Church, in the City of Baltimore, and sundry other persons, mem- 
bers of said Church, have associated for the purpose of maintaining and edu- 
cating poor children, and this General Assembly, being desirous to assist 
such institutions by vesting their promoters with corporate powers ; therefore, 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Reverend 
George Dashiell, Edward Johnson, Thomas Rutter, Josias Pennington, Wil- 
liam Jessop, Hezekiah W r aters and Henry Dorsey Gough, and their successors 
in office, who shall be duly elected in the manner hereinafter described, are 
hereby declared to be one community, corporation and body politic, forever 
hereafter, by the name and style of the Trustees of St. Peter's School, and by 
that name they shall be. and are hereby made, able and capable in law to have, 
purchase, receive, possess, enjoy and retain to them and to their successors 
aforesaid, lands, tenements, rents, annuities, pensions and other hereditaments, 
in fee simple, or for a term of years, life, or lives, or otherwise, and also goods 
chattels or effects, of what nature, quality or kind soever, by the gift, bargain, 
sale or devise, of any person, or persons, bodies politic or corporate, capable 
to make the same, and the same to grant, devise, alien or dispose of, in such 
manner as they may judge most conducive to the benevolent and charitable 
uses of said Society ; Provided always, That the said corporation or body poli- 
tic shall not, at any time, hold or possess property, real, personal or mixed, 
exceeding in yearly revenue eight thousand dollars. 

3. And be it enacted, That when any parents or guardians, or any orphans' 
court, shall have placed any poor child or children in the before-mentioned 
institution, they shall thenceforth be under the control and management of 
the said institution, until it shall be thought proper by the Trustees of said 
school to bind out such poor child or children for the term which by law 
other poor children shall or may be bound, any law of this State to the con- 
trary notwithstanding ; Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be con- 
strued to abridge the security afforded by the laws concerning apprentices. 

4. And be it enacted, That the Reverend George Dashiell, Edward John- 
son, Thomas Rutter, Josias Pennington, William Jessop, Hezekiah Waters, 
and Harry Dorsey Gough aforesaid, shall and are hereby empowered to serve 
as Trustees of the said school, until the election of the Vestry of the Church of 
St. Peter's aforesaid for the year one thousand eight hundred and seven, and 
that at the time the power and office of the persons before mentioned shall, as 
Trustees, expire, and an election of seven Trustees, always including the 
Rector of the said Church, shall then and ever hereafter be made, by such 
members of the Congregation as have the privilege of voting at an election for 
the Vestry, at the same time and in the same manner as the election by said mem- 
bers of the Congregation is made for the Vestry of St. Peter's Church aforesaid ; 
but in case of a vacancy or vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, removal 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



91 



out of the State or disqualification of any of the said Trustees in the inter- 
mediate space of time between the passage of this Act, and the election directed 
to be made as aforesaid, the remaining Trustees, or a majority of them, shall 
fill up such vacancy or vacancies : Provided always, That their choices shall be 
made from the congregation of St. Peter's Church aforesaid. 

5. And be it enacted, That the said Trustees and their successors, or a 
majority of them, shall and may ordain, establish, and put in execution such 
by-laws, ordinances, and regulations as to them shall seem conducive to the 
interests of the said institution, and necessary to the good government and 
orderly management thereof, the same not being contrary to the laws of this 
State or of the United States, and generally to do and execute all such acts, 
matters, and things, and in such manner and form as to them shall seem 
proper, in order more effectually to carry into effect the purposes of this Act : 
Provided ahvays, That a majority of the Trustees in being shall be necessary 
to form a quorum for the transaction of business. 

6. And be it enacted, That the aforesaid Trustees and their successors, 
by the name aforesaid, shall be able and capable in law to sue and be sued, 
implead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended, 
and in all and any court or courts of justice whatsoever, and also to make and 
use a common seal, and the same to break or renew at pleasure.. 



1849— Chapter 525. 
An Act to incorporate the St. Peter's Asylum for Female Children. 

Whereas, A number of ladies in the City of Baltimore, attached to the 
Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Peter's, there, having associated themselves 
for the establishment and support of an institution to be devoted to the 
maintenance and education of destitute female children, and, for the promo- 
tion of their purpose, have asked that a charter be granted them. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That Mrs. 
Keyser, Mrs. Keirle, Mrs. Levering, Mrs. Long, and all others, the ladies now 
contributing, or hereafter to become contributors to the St. Peter's Asylum 
for Female Children, be, and they are hereby, constituted and created a body 
politic and corporate by that name, and by the same name shall be, and they 
are hereby, empowered to have and to use a common seal, to implead and be 
impleaded, to receive from any parent, guardian, orphans' court, or other 
person or authority in charge, any destitute female child or children for the 
support and education, mental and religious, of such children, until they shall 
reach the age of eighteen years, or for a shorter period, as they shall in each 
case determine, to bind out any child so received when they shall judge it 
necessary, but so, however, that they shall be free at the age of eighteen 
years ; to take by gift, grant, devise, bequest, or otherwise, lands, tenements, 
hereditaments, moneys, goods and chattels, and to convey the same, in- 
cluding herein the power to receive from the Trustees of St. Peter's 



92 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



School, incorporated by an Act of the General Assembly of this State, passed 
at November session. Anno Domini eighteen hundred and live, any moneys 
or property which said Trustees may judge it conducive to the benevolent 
and charitable uses of their Society so to give, and generally to have and to 
exercise all other corporate powers which may be necessary or proper to 
effectuate the end of the creation of said body politic. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted. That the internal government and direction 
of the body politic hereby created, shall be vested in a Board of Managers, 
to consist of twelve ladies, either married or unmarried, being annual con- 
tributors of five dollars or more, to be annually elected on Easter Monday, 
by the female annual contributors to the Asylum of the amount of one dollar 
or upwards, who shall be members of the congregation of St. Peter's Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church ; said Managers to fill up the vacancies which may 
happen in the number in the course of the year, and in the event of the failure 
of election from any cause to hold over until their successors are duly elected ; 
to have the power to make by-laws for their own government and that of the 
Asylum ; to employ and fix the duties and compensations of all agents and 
servants whom they may find necessary at the Asylum, and generally to have 
and exercise all powers needful for them in the premises, and that all cor- 
porate powers conferred by this Act, other than those which concern the inter- 
nal government and direction of its affairs., shall be exercisable by a board of 
five Trustees, or the major part thereof, to consist of Messrs. Samuel S. Key- 
ser, Ellis B. Long, Clinton Levering, William W. Wyman. and William 
Woodward, and their successors, who shall be authorized, from time to time, 
to fill all vacancies in their number from whatever cause arising: Provided al- 
ways. That nothing herein contained shall empower them to exercise any 
banking privileges, or to issue any note in the nature of a bank note. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the right is hereby reserved to the General 
Assembly to alter, amend, or annul this Act of incorporation, at its pleasure. 



CHRIST CHURCH.. BALTIMORE. 
1823— Chapter 136. 

An Act to incorporate the Members of Christ Church, in the City of Balti- 
more, as a separate Congregation of the Protestant Episcopal Church of 
the United States. 1 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
Congregation of Christ Church, in the City of Baltimore, now forming a part 
of St. Paul's Parish of Baltimore County, shall be, and are hereby, incor- 
porated as a separate Congregation of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 
United States, by the name and style of The Vestry of Christ's Church in the 

1 Amended by Act of 1872. c. 297. 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 93 



City of Baltimore, and by that name shall severally have and exercise all 
such powers, immunities, rights, and privileges relating to the Congregation 
hereby incorporated, as are lawfully exercised and held by the incorporation 
of St. Paul's Parish aforesaid in this State, under the Act of 1798, chapter 24, 
and by the same laws, and in all respects, be on the same footing with other 
separate Congregations of said Church in this State. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the Vestry elected by the said Congre- 
gation are hereby confirmed in their office till the period appointed by the 
Act of 1798, for the electing a new Vestry, and they shall have legal authority 
to receive a conveyance to them, and their successors, of such real and per- 
sonal property as may have been agreed to be conveyed by St. Paul's Parish, 
and to transmit the same to their successors. 



1840 — Chapter 107. 

An Act to incorporate the Christ Church Asylum for Female Children. 1 

Whereas, A number of ladies in the City of Baltimore, desirous to afford 
to destitute female children the opportunities of education and the means of 
support, have asociated themselves for the establishment and maintenance of 
an institution to be devoted to those ends, and for the promotion of their pur- 
pose have asked that a charter be granted them. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That Mrs. 
Gittings, Mrs. Wyman, Mrs. James Howard, and Mrs. Jenkins, and all others, 
the ladies now contributing, or hereafter to become contributors to the Christ 
Church Asylum for Female Children, be, and they are hereby, constituted and 
created a body politic and corporate by that name, and by the same name 
shall be, and they are hereby, empowered to have and to use a common seal, 
to implead and to be impleaded, and to take and convey lands, tenements, 
hereditaments, moneys, goods, and chattels, to an amount not exceeding in 
yearly value the sum of five thousand dollars. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the corporate powers and capacity by this 
Act conferred, shall be exercisable only for the support and education of fe- 
male children ; and that when any parent, guardian, or orphans' court of this 
State, shall have placed any female child or children with the said body cor- 
porate, the said child or children shall be subject to the regulations applicable 
by law to apprentices, until it shall be thought proper by said body corporate 
to bind them out. which it is hereby authorized to do until they reach the age 
of eighteen, in the manner in which other female children may be bound ; 
Provided, That nothing herein contained be considered as abridging the se- 
curity afforded to such children by the laws concerning apprentices. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the authority hereinbefore given to use 
a common seal, to implead and be impleaded, to purchase and convey lands, 

1 The original Act was that of 1839. c. 307, which is superseded by this Act. 



94 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



tenements, and hereditaments, to bind out children and to appoint a Board of 
Managers, as is hereinafter specified, shall reside in a Board of Governors, 
to consist of John S. Gittings, James Howard, A. J. Henderson, Samuel Wy- 
man, and James Mason Campbell, Esquires, and their successors, and that 
said Board shall have power to fill all vacancies which may occur among its 
members, by death, removal, resignation, or otherwise, and to make such 
officers from among their own number as they may think necessary. ' 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That the collection and employment of the 
means of said body corporate, in the support and education of female children, 
shall be confided to a Board of Managers, to consist of twenty-five ladies, 
either married or unmarried, being annual contributors of five dollars or up- 
wards, to be annually appointed by the Governors, upon whom shall devolve 
also the duty, if requested by the said Board of Managers, of filling up any 
vacancies happening during the current year ; said Board of Managers to have 
power to contract in the name of the body corporate for the renting of 
houses, for the purchase of all things necessary for the support and education 
of the children, and for the employment and compensation of agents and 
servants, to appoint any officers they may think expedient, and define their 
duties and term of office ; to pass such by-laws for their government and that 
of the asylum as they conceive proper, so that they be not against law, in- 
cluding herein the power to determine what number of their body shall con- 
stitute a quorum ; and generally to have and exercise all the powers which 
may by a liberal construction be necessary for effecting the end of the creation 
of said body politic, and which are not hereinbefore vested in the Governors. 

SEC 5. And be it enacted, That the right is hereby expressly reserved to 
the General Assembly of Maryland at its pleasure to alter, amend, or annul 
this Act of incorporation ; Provided, Nothing herein contained shall be con- 
strued to confer upon said body politic, nor the Board of Governors, nor 
the Board of Managers, any banking privileges, nor the right to issue any 
note in the nature of a bank note. 



1872 — Chapter 297. 

An Act to amend the Act of 1828, Chapter 136, [etc., Incorporating the Mem- 
bers of Christ Church, City of Baltimore.] 

Whereas, The Vestry of Christ Church, in the City of Baltimore, referred 
to in the above entitled Act, have recently erected a new Church edifice upon 
a lot of ground purchased by them on the northwest corner of St. Paul and 
Chase streets, in the City of Baltimore, and have called the same Christ 
Church; and, 

Whereas, They are desirous of retaining the Church edifice on the corner 
of Gay and Fayette streets, heretofore held by them and formerly called 
Christ Church, but now called the Church of the Messiah, as a place of wor- 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



95 



ship ; and, as contributions for the purpose of so retaining said Church have 
been made by persons other than those connected with the Congregation of 
Christ Church, it is desirable that said Church, now called the Church of the 
Messiah, should be free from all debts contracted, or to be contracted, by 
the said Vestry of Christ Church, in reference to the said new edifice. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
Vestry of Christ Church, in the City of Baltimore, incorporated by the Act 
of 1828, chapter 136, be, and they are, by their said corporate name, authorized 
to hold the said lot of ground and Church edifice, now erected thereon, on the 
northwest corner of St. Paul and Chase streets, in the City of Baltimore, now 
called Christ Church, in the same full and ample manner, and transmit the 
same to their successors, as they are authorized to hold any property by 
virtue of the said original Act. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the said Vestry of Christ Church, in the 
City of Baltimore, shall be authorized to hold and dispose of the property 
held by them on the corner of Gay and Fayette streets, with the Church edi- 
fice thereon, formerly called Christ Church, but now the Church of the Mes- 
siah, free, clear, and discharged from all debts of the said corporation, except 
such as may be created in special reference to the management of said Church. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That in order that the affairs of said Church 
of the Messiah may be managed in such a way as to be separate from the 
charges and expenses of said Church, now called Christ Church, the entire 
management and control of the said Church of the Messiah shall be vested in 
five Trustees, to be appointed by the Vestry of Christ Church, in the City of 
Baltimore, and that said Trustees, so appointed, shall have such control in 
the management of said Church as is now exercised by Vestries of Churches 
in the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the State of Maryland, except that the 
said Trustees shall have no power to create any debt, charge, or lien upon the 
said Church, and shall have no power to sell the same, and no power shall 
exist to sell the same, except by the joint consent of the Vestries of Christ 
Church, in the City of Baltimore, and of Grace Church, in the City of Balti- 
more. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That the said Vestry of Christ Church, in the 
City of Baltimore, shall, annually, on or before the first day of May, make ap- 
pointment of the said Trustees, to serve for one year from said date, and in 
the event that before said first day of May in any year there shall no appoint- 
ment be made as prescribed, that then the Trustees of the former year shall 
hold over for one year longer, commencing from said first day of May. 

Sec. 5. And be it enacted, That the said Vestry of Christ Church, in the 
City of Baltimore, shall, at some meeting to be held by them on or before the 
first day of May, 1872, determine whether they will accept of the provisions 
of this Act, and enter such their determination upon their minutes of proceed- 
ings, and if they should determine to accept the same then this Act shall be in 
force from and after such acceptance. 

Sec. 6. And be it enacted, That the Legislature of Maryland shall have- 
power to alter or repeal this Act, or the original Act, at their pleasure. 



96 LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



ST. TIMOTHY'S HALL. 
1847— Chapter 209. 

An Act to incorporate the Trustees of St. Timothy's Hall, a Literary 
Institution in Baltimore County. 1 



1852— Chapter 319. 

An Act concerning the Students of St. Timothy's Hall, Baltimore 

County. 1 



INSTITUTIONS OF ST. PAUL'S PARISH, BALTIMORE. 
1799— Chapter 44. 

An Act to incorporate a Society for the maintenance and education of poor 
Female Children, by the name of The Benevolent Society of the City and 
County of Baltimore. 

Whereas, The Reverend Joseph G. J. Bend and the Reverend John Ireland, 
Associate Rectors of St Paul's Parish, in the City and County of Baltimore, 
and sundry other persons of the City and County of Baltimore, 
have associated themselves for the truly benevolent purpose of establishing 
an institution for the maintenance and education of poor female children, and 
by their petition to this General Assembly represented, that their endeavors 
would be followed by more beneficial consequences if the Society was invested 
with corporate powers ; and, 

Whereas, This General Assembly is desirous to give proper assistance to 
humane and benevolent institutions, more especially to those having for their 
object the instruction of youth, on which the virtue and happiness of society 
so much depend; therefore, 

2. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the said 
Reverend Joseph G. J. Bend and the Reverend John Ireland, Associate Rec- 
tors of St. Paul's Parish aforesaid, and their and each of their successors, 
George Grundy, Nicholas Rogers, Henry Nichols, John Merryman, and Heze- 
"kiah Clagett, and such other male persons as may from time to time here- 
after unite with them in their benevolent design, and become contributors and 
subscribers to the said Society, shall be, and they are hereby, declared to be, 
one community, corporation, and body politic, forever hereafter, by the name 
and style of The Benevolent Society of the City and County of Baltimore, and 
by that name they shall be, and are hereby, made able and capable in law to 

1 The institution has ceased to exist. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



97 



have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, and retain, to them and their suc- 
cessors, lands, tenements, rents, annuities, pensions, and other hereditaments, 
in fee simple, or for a term of years, life, lives, or otherwise, and also, 
goods, chattels, and effects, of what nature, kind, or quality soever, by the 
gift, bargain, sale or devise, of any person or persons, bodies politic or cor- 
porate, capable to make the same, and the same to grant, devise, alien, or dis- 
pose of in such manner as they may judge most conducive to the benevolent 
and charitable uses of -said Society; Provided nevertheless, That the said cor- 
poration or body politic shall not, at any one time, hold or possess property, 
real, personal, or mixed, exceeding in total value the sum of fifteen thousand 
dollars. 

3. And be it enacted, That when any parents or guardians, or any orphans' 
court, shall have placed any female child or children in the before-mentioned 
institution, they shall henceforth be under the control and management of 
such persons as the Society may have appointed to manage their concerns, until 
they shall think fit to bind them out, which they are hereby empowered to 
do for any term, not exceeding the period at which such female child or 
children shall have completed her or their sixteenth year, anything in any 
law of this State to the contrary notwithstanding; Provided^ That nothing 
herein contained be construed to abridge the security afforded to such persons 
by the law concerning apprentices. 

4. And be it enacted, That the said Society, and their successors, by the 
aforesaid name, shall be forever hereafter able and capable in law to sue 
and be sued, pleaded and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and 
be defended, in all or any courts of justice whatsoever, and also to make, 
have, and use a common seal, and the same to break, alter, and renew at 
pleasure, and also to assemble and meet at such times and places as they 
may agree upon, and, by a majority of the voices of those attending, to 
ordain, establish and put in execution such by-laws, ordinances, and regula- 
tions as to them shall seem conducive to the interests of their institution, 
and necessary to the good government and orderly management thereof, the 
same not being contrary to the laws of this State, or of the United States, 
and generally to do and execute all such acts, matters, and things as to them 
shall or may appertain to do. 

5. And be it enacted, That the members of said corporation and their 
successors may meet together on the first Monday of January next, at the 
City of Baltimore, and on the same day annually forever thereafter, or as 
soon after as may be, and then and there elect the officers of said Society, 
and form such rules and regulations (not contrary to the laws and Constitu- 
tion of this State, or the United States, as aforesaid) as may be necessary 
for carrying into effect the benevolent purposes of this Act. 



9S t LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



1886— Chapter 467. 

An Act to amend the Act of November Session, 1799, Chapter 44, entitled 
an Act to incorporate a society for the maintenance and education of poor 
female children, by the name of the Benevolent Society for the City and 
County of Baltimore. 

Whereas, The Associate Rectors of St. Paul's Parish, in the City and 
County of Baltimore, and their successors and the subscribers and contribu- 
tors to the Society, incorporated by the Act of November session, seventeen 
hundred and ninety-nine, chapter forty-four, were incorporated by said Act 
under the name of the Benevolent Society for the City and County of Balti- 
more, for the purposes in said Act mentioned; and 

Whereas, The pecuniary condition of the said corporation so formed is 
such that there is no longer occasion that the said corporation should rely 
upon subscribers and contributors to obtain the means necessary to carry 
into effect the purposes of said Society; and 

Whereas, The number of said subscribers and contributors has for this 
reason become so limited that it is necessary and proper to provide other 
means for the government of said Society, and for the performance of the 
duties devolved upon it by said Act; therefore, 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
Vestry of St. Paul's Parish, in Baltimore County, hereinbefore referred to, 
shall have power to appoint upon such day as it may designate in each and 
every year, from among the parishioners of St. Paul's Parish, eight Trustees, 
who shall, together with the Rector for the time being, of said Parish, con- 
stitute a Board of Trustees, which shall have and exercise all the powers 
vested in the said The Benevolent Society for the City and County of Balti- 
more, by its original Act of incorporation, or by any Act amendatory thereof, 
or supplementary thereto, and all the powers vested by law or by the con- 
stitution or by-laws of said corporation in its Board of Trustees ; and the 
members of said Board of Trustees, so appointed in any year, shall hold 
their respective offices and perform the duties thereof until their respective 
successors are elected and qualified. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect from and after 
the date of its passage. 



1856 — Chapter 95. 

An Act to make valid and amend articles of incorporation of the Boys' 
School of St. Paul's Parish, in the City of Baltimore, incorporated under 
the Act of eighteen hundred and forty-six, chapter three hundred and 
twenty-three, entitled 11 An Act to authorize incorporations in certain cases" 

Whereas, William E. Wyatt, Thomas Swann, Reverdy Johnson, Jr., Wil- 
liam B. Duvall, William R. Travers, Frederick W. Brune, Jr., William B. 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



99 



Perine, Edward W. Wyatt, Benjamin M. Hodges, Jr., Edward W. Blanch- 
ard, and George S. Norris have heretofore associated themselves, by 
virtue of the Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, passed at the De- 
cember session, eighteen hundred and forty-six, chapter three hundred and 
twenty-three, entitled 'An Act to authorize incorporations in certain cases" 
for the purpose of constituting themselves a body politic by the name of The 
Boys' School of St. Paul's Parish, having for its object the education and 
moral improvement of poor and helpless boys ; and 

Whereas, Doubts have arisen as to the proper execution of the articles of 
association by which they were incorporated, by reason of two of the parties 
above mentioned not having signed the said articles, and also whether the said 
corporation may receive and hold property beyond the amount mentioned 
in the said Act of Assembly; and 

Whereas, The full success of the undertaking requires that it should be 
authorized to receive and hold a larger amount of property than is in said 
Act of Assembly mentioned; therefore, 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
articles of association of the Boys' School of St. Paul's Parish, in the City of 
Baltimore, notwithstanding any defect or defects in the execution thereof, 
be hereby declared valid to all intents and purposes, so as to constitute the 
said body a duly incorporated association under the laws of this State, by its 
corporate name aforesaid, and that said corporation be hereby declared capa- 
ble of receiving, recovering, holding and enjoying all property, real, personal 
or mixed, which may have been heretofore given, devised or bequeathed to it, 
or which it may hereafter acquire by gift, devise, bequest or otherwise; Pro- 
vided, That the amount of property so acquired and held shall not exceed the 
sum of fifty thousand dollars. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect from and after 
the date of its passage. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 
1784— Chapter 78. 

An Act to provide a fund for the relief of the Widows and Children of the 
Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State. 

\\ hereas, It hath been represented to this General Assembly, by the 
Reverend William Smith, Doctor in Divinity, the Reverend William West, 
John Andrews and Thomas John Clagett, that they are a committee appointed 
by and in behalf of the Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this 
State (formerly denominated the Church of England) to solicit an Act of 
incorporation to enable the Clergy of the said Church to raise and manage a 
fund for providing small annuities for the distressed widows of the said 
Clergy, and for the education of their children; and this General Assembly 



L OFd 



100 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



are earnestly desirous to promote every pious and charitable design for the 
relief and assistance of the widows and fatherless, and especially those of the 
respectable and useful body of Clergy of all denominations, who are often 
obliged, through the uncertainty and scantiness of their support in many 
places, to leave their families in very necessitous circumstances ; therefore, 

II. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland. That the said 
Protestant Episcopal Clergy, namely, William Smith, John Gordon, John 
McPherson, William Thompson, Samuel Keene, William West, Walter 
Magowan, John Andrews, Thomas John Clagett, George Goldie, Edward 
Gantt, Francis Lauder, Joseph Messenger, John Bowie, Walter Harrison, 
Thomas Gates, James Wilmer, Hamilton Bell, Francis Walker, John Stewart, 
Samuel Tingly, Leonard Cutting, Ralph Higginbothom. Mason Weems and 
Edward Gantt, Jr., and such other Clergymen in the* orders and communion 
of the said Church as may hereafter become residents of this State, and shall 
be contributors to the said funds of the corporation herein erected, and as 
may be admitted into the said corporation by a majority of the members 
thereof for the time being, shall be, and they and their successors are hereby 
declared to be, one community, corporation and body politic forever, by the 
name of the Corporation for the Relief of the Widows and Children of the 
Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland ; and by the same 
name they and their successors shall and may have perpetual succession, and 
shall and may, at all times hereafter, be persons able and capable in law to 
purchase, take, have and enjoy, to them and their successors, in fee. or for 
an}- less estate or estates, any lands, tenements, rents, annuities, pensions and 
other hereditaments within this State, by the gift, bargain, sale or devise, of 
any person or persons, bodies politic and corporate, capable to make the same ; 
and such lands, tenements, rents, annuities, pensions and other hereditaments, 
or any less estates, rights or interests, of or in the same at their pleasure to 
alien, sell, transfer or lease, in such manner as they may judge most conducive 
for furthering the pious design of this charitable incorporation, and according 
to the nature of such estate as they may have in the same ; and also that they, 
and their successors, may take and receive any sum or sums of money, and 
any kind, manner, or portion of goods and chattels, that may or shall be 
given, sold or bequeathed unto them, by any person or persons, bodies politic 
or corporate, capable to make a gift, sale or bequest thereof, and to employ 
the same either in the immediate payment of annuities to the widows afore- 
said, and other declared purposes of this incorporation, or in providing a fund 
or capital sufficient to produce a yearly interest, revenue or income, for an- 
swering the good purposes of the same ; Provided, That the clear yearly 
value of the said capital, fund, stock and other hereditaments and real estate 
of the said corporation, do not exceed fifteen thousand Spanish milled dollars 
of the present current weight, namely, seventeen pennyweight and six grains 
each dollar, above all taxes and assessments. 

III. And be it enacted, That the members of the said corporation, and 
their successors, may meet together on the fourth Tuesday in May every year, 



LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 101 



and at such other time or times, and at such place or places within this 
State, and upon such public notice given, as may be fixed and agreed upon, 
for the purpose of forming such rules and regulations as may be necessary 
for answering and carrying into effect the pious purposes of this Act; Pro- 
vided, Such rules and regulations be not repugnant to the Constitution and 
laws of this State. 

IV. And be it enacted, That the said corporation and their successors, by 
the name aforesaid, shall be forever hereafter able and capable in law to sue 
and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend 
and be defended in all or any courts of justice, and before all or any judges, 
officers, or other persons whatsoever, in all and singular actions, matters and 
demands whatsoever, and that it shall and may be lawful for them and their 
successors forever hereafter to have a common seal for their use, and in their 
affairs and business, and the same at the will and pleasure of them, and their 
successors, to change, alter, break or make anew from time to time, as they shall 
think best, and shall in general have and exercise all such rights, franchises, 
privileges and annuities as by law are incident and necessary to corporations 
of this kind, and which may be necessary to the corporation herein and hereby 
constituted and erected, to enable them duly and fully, in the law, to execute 
all things touching and concerning the design and intent of their said incor- 
poration, for the benefit, succor and relief of the widows of such Clergymen 
in the orders and communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church aforesaid, 
as may or shall become contributors to the funds of said corporation, agree- 
able to such rules and by-laws as may be established for the management and 
payment of annuities to the said widows, and for the education of their chil- 
dren, and settling them in some useful business or profession. 



1884— Chapter 131. 

An Act to amend and enlarge the powers granted by the Act entitled "An 
Act to provide a fund for the relief of the widows and children of the 
Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of Maryland'* 
passed November session, seventeen hundred and eighty-four, chapter 
seventy-eight. 

Whereas, In the period of one hundred years, since the passage of the Act 
herein referred to, the number of persons to be benefited by the corporation 
thereby created has largely increased, and their needs and necessities have 
multiplied in various forms ; and although the ability of the corporation to 
meet those wants has also increased, it yet requires further enlargement and 
more liberty in the use of its income in order thoroughly to accomplish the 
various charitable purposes that may be subserved thereby; therefore, 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
proviso in the Act entitled "An Act to provide a fund for the relief of the 
widows and children of the Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 



102 



LAWS OF MARYLAXD OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



State of Maryland," passed November session, seventeen hundred and 
eighty-four, chapter seventy-eight, which limits the clean yearly value of the 
capital fund, stock and other hereditaments and real estate of the corporation 
thereby created to a sum not exceeding fifteen thousand Spanish milled dollars 
of the then current weight of seventeen pennyweight and six grains, each 
dollar above all taxes and assessments, be and the same is hereby repealed, 
and the said corporation is hereby authorized to hold such funds and other 
hereditaments and real estate as authorized by the Act aforesaid; Provided, 
That the net income arising from the same shall not exceed the sum of fifty 
thousand dollars per annum. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted. That it shall be competent for the said corpora- 
tion to admit new members by the votes of two-thirds of those members who 
may be present at any annual meeting of said corporation. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted. That the said corporation be, and it is hereby, 
authorized at any annual [meeting], by a vote of a majority of the members 
present at that meeting, to distribute any surplus of the preceding year re- 
maining after the settlement in full of all expenses and claims upon the said 
corporation for that year to the following objects, in the order named, and in 
such proportion as it may seem best, unless as herein otherwise specified, viz : 

Firstly. The corporation shall always appropriate not less than one-fourth 
of such surplus income as an addition to the invested fund, which invested 
fund, as now existing, and any additions thereto, shall be reserved for the 
purpose of producing mcome to be used for the purposes of the said corpora- 
tion. 

Secondly. To the payment of the widows and children of deceased mem- 
bers, as now authorized under the by-laws of the corporation, to receive an- 
nuities of such sums in addition to their annuities as their respective needs and 
the amount to be distributed may warrant. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect from the day 
when an official certificate of its acceptance by the said corporation shall be 
filed with the Secretary of the State of Maryland. 



1821— Chapter 234. 

An Act for the benefit of the Rector of St. John's Parish, in Harford and 

Baltimore Counties. 

Whereas, It is represented to this General Assembly, by the petition of cer- 
tain persons belonging to the Vestries and Congregations of the new St. 
John's and the Rock Spring Churches, within St. John's Parish, of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, in Baltimore and Harford Counties, praying that a 
law may pass authorizing them to hold a tract or parcel of land for the use 
and support of their Minister, and the prayer appearing reasonable ; therefore, 

Section L Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That it 
shall, and may be lawful, for Edward Day. John B. Bayless and William Dem- 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



103 



mett, of the new St John's Church Congregation, and John Moores, Israel D. 
Maulsby and George K. Amos, of the Rock Spring Church Congregation, in 
the Parish aforesaid, in Baltimore and Harford Counties, in trust for the use 
of the officiating Rector of the said Churches for the time being and his suc- 
cessors, he and they being of, and conforming to the rules and regulations of, 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the State of Maryland, to hold any tract 
or tracts, or parts of tracts of land, that they, by deed of bargain and sale, 
deed of gift, or by devise, may acquire, not exceeding one hundred and fifty 
acres solely for the support of the Rector of the Parish in which the said 
Churches are situate ; and the said Trustees and their successors shall have 
an estate in fee simple in all such lands not exceeding one hundred and fifty 
acres as aforesaid, as they or their successors shall acquire a legal title to, as 
aforesaid. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the said Trustees shall, from time to time, fill 
up vacancies that may happen in their Board, by death, resignation, or other- 
wise, so as to keep up the number of six, three from each Congregation ; and 
the said Trustees shall, in case the Parish may at any time be without a 
Rector, take care of all such lands as they may acquire, and shall not suffer 
any waste or trespass to be committed thereon until another Rector can be 
got. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the Vestry of the aforesaid Parish, and the 
Rector thereof, shall in all cases be governed by the Act entitled "An Act for 
the establishment of Vestries for each Parish in this State," passed at No- 
vember session, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That it shall not be lawful for the Vestrymen of 
the new St. John's and the Rock Spring Churches, within St. John's Parish of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, in Harford and Baltimore Counties, to 
choose more than one Minister to officiate in the two said Churches at any 
one time, anything in any law to the contrary notwithstanding. 

1822 — Chapter 4. 

An Act to provide for the Election of a Vestry to St. John's Church, in Queen 
Caroline Parish, in Anne Arundel County. 

Section 2. And be it enacted, That after the first election of a Vestry to 
said Church, a new Vestry shall be annually, after Easter Monday in the 
year eighteen hundred and twenty-three, elected therefor, by the free white 
citizens twenty-one years of age, professing themselves members of said 
Church, and holding a pew or half a pew therein ; which said elections shall 
be made at the times, and in the manner that the elections of the Vestries 
of other Protestant Episcopal Churches in this State are made. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the Vestry to be elected to the said St. 
John's Church shall have and enjoy every right, power, privilege, and in- 
dulgence that is given or granted to or enjoyed by other Vestries of the 
Protestant Episcopal Churches within this State. 



104 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



HANNAH MORE ACADEMY. 
1837— Chapter 189. 

An Act to incorporate the Trustees of the Hannah More Academy, in 

Baltimore County. 1 

Whereas, Mrs. Ann Neilson, late of Baltimore County, deceased, animated 
by the pure spirit of Christian benevolence, and a desire to promote the re- 
ligious education of poor female children, did. by her last will and testament, 
bearing date the fifteenth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-two. 
and recorded in the office of the Register of Wills of Baltimore County, de- 
vise to Washington Vanbibber and George L. Vanbibber, and the survivor of 
of them, and the heirs of such survivor, two lots or parcels of ground in the 
said county, in trust, for the purpose, of establishing a female seminary, to 
be called, as directed by the codicil to said will, "The Hannah More 
Academy;" and did also bequeath to the said Washington Vanbibber the 
sum of ten thousand dollars, in trust, for the same object; six thousand 
dollars, or part thereof, to be expended in the erection of a suitable dwell- 
ing and outhouses and other necessary improvements, and the remaining four 
thousand dollars to be safely invested, and the interest thereof to be applied 
to the education of little girls as directed in the said will, and for the purpose 
of more effectually promoting the interests of the said institution, did. by her 
said will, nominate and appoint the Rev. J. P. K. Henshaw. the Rev. John 
Johns, Clotworthy Birnie, Sr., Roger Birnie, Washington Vanbibber. and 
George L. Vanbibber to be Trustees, with full power and authority to regu- 
late and superintend the affairs and interests of the said Academy, with power 
to fill any vacancies arising from death, refusal to act, resignation, or removal 
to a distance of any of the said Trustees ; also, 

Whereas, It is represented by the Trustees of said Academy that the 
necessary buildings have been erected according to the directions of the said 
testatrix, and the said Academy has been for some years in successful opera- 
tion, and that the benevolent designs of the pious founder will be more 
effectually secured by granting an Act of incorporation ; therefore. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
Reverend J. P. K. Henshaw, D.D., the Rev. John Johns, D.D., the Rev. 
Charles C. Austin, Clotworthy Birnie, Sr.. Washington Vanbibber. and 
Franklin Anderson, the present Trustees of the said Academy, and their 
successors to be chosen as hereinafter mentioned, shall be. and are hereby, 
created and declared to be a body politic and corporate, by the name, style, 
and title of "The Trustees of the Hannah More Academy ;" and by the same 
name shall have perpetual succession, and shall be capable in law and equity 
to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in any court of law or equity in 
this State or elsewhere, and to have a common seal, and to perform all such 



1 See Resolution of Convention relating to Hannah More Academy, p. 56. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 105 



acts, and make such by-laws, rules and regulations, consistent with the laws of 
this State and the intentions of the said testatrix, as declared in her said last will 
and testament, as may appear to be necessary or convenient for managing the 
concerns of the said corporation, and for fully exercising and carrying into 
effect the powers granted by this Act. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That in case of a vacancy happening among 
the said Trustees by death, refusal to act, resignation or removal to remote 
situations, so as to render it inconvenient to them to attend to the perform- 
ance of the duties of the trust, the same shall be filled by a majority of the 
remaining Trustees, so as to keep up the number of six Trustees forever. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That it may be lawful for the said Trustees of 
the Hannah More Academy and their successors to receive from the said 
Washington Vanbibber and George L,. Vanbibber a conveyance and assign- 
ment of the property, real and personal, devised to them, in trust, as afore- 
said, and to hold and use the same for the purposes of the said corporation, 
and also receive and hold, for the same purpose, any other estate, in lands, 
tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels moneys, or effects that may be 
given, granted, or bequeathed to them by any other person or persons what- 
soever; Provided, The same do not in the whole exceed the yearly value or 
sum of five thousand dollars, and to invest the funds of the said corporation, 
and to change such investments from time to time as they may think proper. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That nothing in this Act contained shall preju- 
dice the rights of the heirs-at-law of the said Ann Neilson. 



1874— Chapter 15. 

An Act supplementary to the Act to incorporate the Hannah More Academy 
of Baltimore County, passed at December session, 1837, Chapter 189. 

Whereas, By resolution of the Diocesan Convention of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, passed on the twenty-eighth 
of May, 1873, the said Hannah More Academy was accepted and received 
as the Diocesan School for Girls ; and, 

Whereas, The said Convention, deeming it expedient that the present num- 
ber of the Board of Trustees should be increased, and that the appointment 
of such additional Trustees, as well as the successors of the Board of Trus- 
tees hereafter to be appointed, should be made by said Diocesan Convention, 
did name three additional Trustees, the Rt. Rev. William Pinkney, D.D., 
Samuel G. Wyman and William W. Corcoran ; and, 

Whereas, Such resolutions were passed upon the application, and with the 
unanimous consent of the present Board of Trustees of said Hannah More 
Academy; therefore, 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the 
said Rt. Rev. William Pinkney, D.D., Samuel G. Wyman and William W. 
Corcoran be, and they are hereby, added as Trustees to the present Board of 



106 LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



Trustees of the Hannah More Academy, and so that on the acceptance of this 
Act by the present Board of Trustees it shall thereafter consist of the follow- 
ing persons : The Rt. Rev. W. R. Whittingham, D.D., the Rt. Rev. William 
Pinkney, D.D. ; the Rev. Arthur J. Rich, M.D. ; W. Chew Van Bibber, M.D. ; 
Thomas E. Van Bibber, Hon. William P. Maulsby, William S. Keech, Samuel 
G. Wyman, and William W. Corcoran, who and their successors shall there- 
after be the body corporate known as "the Trustees of the Hannah More 
Academy," and shall have and exercise all the rights and powers conferred 
on the Trustees named in the Act, to which this is a supplement, or enjoyed 
by the present Board of Trustees. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted. That the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the Diocese of Maryland, and the Assistant Bishop thereof, if 
there be one. shall be ex officio members of the Board of Trustees of said 
Academy, and there shall be, in addition to such Bishop and Assistant Bishop, 
if there be one, seven other Trustees, or if there be no Assistant Bishop of 
said Diocese, eight other Trustees, who, with their successors, shall be 
elected or appointed by the said Convention in such 'manner as it shall pre- 
scribe, so as best to perpetuate the succession of the Trustees, to further the 
interests of the Academy and secure the benevolent designs of its founder. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That all parts of the Act to which this is a 
supplement inconsistent herewith be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect as soon as it 
shall be accepted by the present Board of Trustees of the Hannah More 
Academy. 

BALTIMORE CITY PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY 

COMMITTEE. 

Articles of Association, May 10, 1859. 

W hereas, By an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, passed at De- 
cember Session, 1846, Chapter 323, it is, among other things, enacted, that 
power and authority is thereby granted to any individuals, other than free 
negroes and mulattoes, in any city or county of this State, under any name 
by them assumed, to associate for the purposes therein mentioned, and among 
others for charitable and religious purposes, and being so associated shall, on 
complying with the provisions of that Act, be considered a body politic and 
corporate ; and, 

Whereas, Among the provisions of that Act, it is enacted that, in order 
that any Association may have the benefit thereof, Articles of Association 
shall be entered into and signed by the members originating the same, and re- 
corded ; and, 

Whereas, Also the City Committee of Missions in Baltimore, connected 
with the Protestant Episcopal Church, was instituted for charitable and re- 
ligious purposes ; and it is desirable that it should have the power of holding 
real estate and doing corporate acts ; 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



107 



Now know all men by these presents : That we, the undersigned, free white 
citizens of the State of Maryland, and members of the said Committee, have 
associated, and do hereby associate, for the religious and charitable purpose of 
purchasing, building, holding and maintaining free Churches and Mission 
School-Houses, to be used for worship and instruction, according to the doc- 
trine, discipline and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States of America, and for that purpose have entered into and signed these 
Articles of Association. 

Article 1. The name of the Association, which is hereby assumed, shall be 
the Baltimore City Protestant Episcopal Missionary Committee. 

Article 2. The object of the Association shall be the purchasing, build- 
ing, holding and maintaining free Churches and Mission School-Houses, and 
holding lands, whereon they are or may be erected, in connection with the 
Protestant Episcopal Church aforesaid, in the City of Baltimore. 

Article 3. The Association shall confine itself strictly to the objects here- 
inbefore set forth, and shall, on no account, engage in any operations for the 
accumulation of capital, with a view to profits and dividends for gain. 

Article 4. Every person who is, or hereafter may be, a member of the 
Committee of Missions referred to in the preamble, or of any organization 
which the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of 
Maryland, or in any other Diocese within the limits of which the City of 
Baltimore may be included, may substitute for that Committee, shall, during 
his membership of such Committee or organization, be a member of the Asso- 
ciation. 

Article 5. The affairs of this Association shall be conducted by five Trus- 
tees, to be chosen by the members thereof, at such times and in such manner 
as the Association may from time to time appoint. 



1860— Chapter 209. 

An Act entitled an Act for the benefit of the Baltimore City Protestant 
Episcopal Missionary Committee. 

Whereas, The Baltimore City Protestant Episcopal Missionary Committee 
have associated for the religious and charitable purpose of purchasing, 
building, holding and maintaining free Churches and Mission School-Houses, 
to be used for worship and instruction according to the doctrine, discipline 
and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of 
America, and have become incorporated under the provisions of an Act of 
the General Assembly of this State, passed at December session, in the year 
eighteen hundred and forty six, chapter three hundred and twenty-three ; and, 

Whereas, The provisions of that Act limit the value of the property which 
may be held by associations incorporated under the same to an amount too 
small to answer the purpose of said corporation. 



IDS LAWS OF MARYLAXD OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That it 
shall be lawful for the Baltimore City Protestant Episcopal Missionary 
Committee to acquire and hold property, whether real, personal or mixed, 
to the value of one hundred thousand dollars. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted. That this Act shall take effect from and after 
its passage. 



REPEALED ACTS. 

Note. — The three following Acts are repealed by the Act of 1S68, chap. 471 [Art. 23 of 
Code of 1SSS], but they are reprinted here because they are the foundation of the incorpo- 
ration of our separate Congregations, and of some of our benevolent institutions. The 
rights and privileges of these Churches and institutions are saved by the third section of 
the first Article of the Code, notwithstanding the repeal of the Acts under which they 
were acquired. 

1S02— Chapter ill. 

An Act to incorporate certain persons in every Christian Church or Congre- 
gation in this State. 

Whereas, Petitions from many religious societies have annually been re- 
ferred to this Legislature, and many are now before them, praying acts of 
incorporation, and it is reasonable and proper that all denominations of 
Christians within this State, whose members conduct themselves in a peace- 
able and orderly manner, should receive and enjoy equal rights and privi : 
leges, without partiality, preference, or distinction, in all things concerning 
the temporalities and government of their Churches, Congregations and So- 
cieties ; and, 

Whereas, Also it is necessary to their welfare that they should be empow- 
ered to hold and acquire certain portions of property in a corporate or con- 
gregational capacity, and enter into various engagements of a civil or tem- 
poral nature, which can only be done by assistance of the General Assembly, 
which assistance may nevertheless be rightfully granted without disturbing 
private opinions, or affecting the rights of judgment in matters of religion, 
or imposing an involuntary burthen on any person whatsoever ; and, 

Whereas, It is most convenient to make provisions for their respective 
situations by a general law which shall reach their several exigencies in affairs 
of a temporal or civil nature, as far as a difference of circumstances will admit ; 
the General Assembly, having therefore taken the premises into serious con- 
sideration, and conceiving themselves indispensably bound to secure and pre- 
serve the same quality of rights, privileges and advantages to all quiet and in- 
offensive Christian societies in this State, without any exception, whereby 
religion may be encouraged and diffused, and peace, order and universal tran- 
quillity prevail, have agreed to enact. 

II. And be it enacted, 1 That in every Christian Church, or Society, or 
Congregation, of whatsoever sect, order or denomination, now known, or 
which shall at any time hereafter be known and acknowledged in this State, 
and protected in the free and full exercise of their religion by the Constitu- 
tion and laws of the same, there shall be and remain sufficient power and 

1 See Act to confirm this Act, November Session. 1S09, c. 139. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



109 



authority in all male persons above twenty-one years of age belonging to any 
such Church, Society or Congregation, to elect, at their discretion, certain 
sober and discreet persons, not less than five nor more than thirteen, which 
persons, so elected, shall be, and are hereby, constituted a body politic or 
corporate, upon being registered, as hereinafter directed, to act as Trustees, 
in the name and behalf of the particular Church, Society or Congregation, for 
which they are respectively chosen, and to manage the estate, property, interest 
and inheritance of the same, in the most upright and careful manner, and 
shall, moreover, have perpetual succession in law, fact and name, as herein- 
after prescribed, and shall, by their name of incorporation, have full power 
and lawful authority to sue and to be sued, to implead and to be impleaded, 
to answer and to be answered unto, 'n any court or courts of law or equity 
within this State, before any judge or judges, justice or justices, in all man- 
ner of suits and pleas whatever, and of what nature or kind soever such 
suits, pleas or actions may be, in as full and effectual a manner as any other 
person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, may or can do. 

III. And be it enacted, That every such body politic shall be chosen, 
and the succession kept up at such times and places as are ordinarily 
used for public meetings of the said Church, Society or Congregation, and by 
such persons as are allowed to have a voice in the management and direction 
of congregational or temporal concerns, according to the known custom 
and usage of their respective denominations ; or the said body politic or cor- 
porate shall be chosen, and the succession kept up according to the rules, 
regulations and practice that may have been heretofore adopted and used, 
or that shall be at the first time of electing adopted and agreed upon, by any 
particular Church, Society or Congregation, for ordering, directing, or man- 
aging, their congregational or temporal concerns ; Provided, always, That 
every Trustee or member of any corporation aforesaid shall be of the same 
religious sect or denomination with the Church, Society, or Congregation, 
by which he is chosen to this trust ; and Provided also, That the Minister for 
the time being, or senior Minister, where there are more than one settled in 
any Church, Society, or Congregation, shall always, in virtue of his ministry, 
be a member of the body politic or corporate belonging to the same, exclusive 
of the number heretofore prescribed. 

IV. And be it enacted, That in case any debate shall arise in any Church, 
Society, or Congregation, about the right of voting, or whether the 
election aforesaid hath been fairly conducted, agreeably to the true intent 
and meaning of this Act, the parties contending shall each of them choose 
one discreet and reputable person from amongst the members or Trustees 
of some neighboring Church, Society, or Congregation, of the same religious 
persuasion, if any such there be, and if none such, then of any other Christian 
Society, which two persons shall choose a third, qualified in like manner, and the 
said three persons shall meet at the place where the difference has arisen, and 
hear and determine upon the matter, and their judgment or award, or the judg- 
ment or award of a majority of them, certified under their hands and seals 
to the contending parties, shall be final. 

V. And be it enacted, That at the first election or appointment of every 
body politic or corporate aforesaid, every Church, Society, or Congregation 
assembled as already directed, shall determine and fix on their plan, agree- 
ment, or regulation, mentioning and specifying distinctly the time and man- 
ner of electing Trustees, and the manner in which the succession shall be 
perpetuated, and containing an exact description of the qualifications of the 
persons severally electing and elected, and to elect and to be elected there- 
after, and also the name, style, or title of the corporation, by which it shall 
be thereafter called, distinguished, and known, and the name of the Church, 
Society, or Congregation choosing the same, which said plan, agreement, or 



110 



LAWS OF MARY LA XD OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



regulation, shall be entered in the book hereinafter directed to be kept by 
the said body politic or corporate, and the same shall be acknowledged by 
the said Trustees, or a majority of them, before and certified by, any two 
justices of the peace for the county in which the said Church, Society, or 
Congregation, or the greatest number of them shall reside, or the same shall 
be acknowledged before, and certified by, one of the Judges of the General 
Court, after being well assured by the said Trustees, or a majority of them, 
that the proceedings have been legally and duly conducted; and the said plan 
or agreement, so acknowledged and certified, shall be filed by the said Trus- 
tees with the Clerk of the County Court where the said Church, Society, or 
Congregation, or the greater part of them, shall reside, within six months 
after such acknowledgment shall be made, and the same shall be recorded in 
a book to be provided for these special purposes, at the expense of the sev- 
eral corporations in that county whose proceedings shall be so recorded, and 
a copy of the said proceedings from the records thereof, under the hand of 
the clerk and the public seal of his office, shall be of the same force and effect, 
in every court of law and equity within this State as the original proceedings 
would be if the same were produced in Court; and if any future change or 
alteration shall be made in the original plan by authority of the Congregation 
as aforesaid, such change or alteration shall in the same manner be made 
known and recorded ; and the said clerk shall be entitled to such fees for his 
services as are allowed by law for services of the like nature in matters be- 
longing to his office. 

VI. And be it enacted, That every corporation or body politic aforesaid, 
respectively, and their successors, or the majority of them, by their name, 
of incorporation aforesaid, shall have full power and authority to hold and 
use one common seal, to appoint the times and places of their meetings, 
and the number necessary to constitute a quorum, and shall, moreover, pro- 
vide and keep a good and sufficient record book, and cause to be therein 
registered a fair account of all the proceedings; subject at all times to the 
inspection of the several members of the Church, Society or Congregation, 
in whose behalf the same are respectively entered, and the same shall be 
laid before a public meeting, when thereunto required by any five or more 
of the same; and the said Trustees, or a majority of them, shall have full 
power and authority to frame such rules and ordinances for conducting their 
concerns as may be necessary and convenient for accomplishing the end of 
their institution; Provided always, That nothing therein contained shall be re- 
pugnant to, but perfectly consistent with, the Constitution and laws of this 
State. 

VII. And be it enacted, That all and every one of the said corporations 
or Trustees and their successors, by their respective names or titles, shall be 
vested with an estate in fee-simple in any land or parcel of ground not ex- 
ceeding two acres, and also in every Chapel, Meeting-House, or other house 
of worship belonging to, or in the use of, the particular Church, Society, or 
Congregation for which they are respectively chosen as a body politic or 
corporate ; and shall also, by their respective names or titles, have absolute 
property in all books, plate or other ornaments, and all goods and chattels 
belonging to the said Church, Society, or Congregation, whether the same 
have been given, granted, or devised directly to the said Church, Society, or 
Congregation, or to any person in trust for them ; Provided, That the person 
or persons holding lands or goods and chattels in trust for any particular 
Church or Society as aforesaid shall vountarily make over by indenture proper 
for that purpose to the Trustees or body corporate of such particular Church 
or Society such lands or chattels for the use and benefit of such Church, 
Society or Congregation. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. Ill 



VIII. And be it enacted, That all and every one of the said corporations or 
Trustees established, or to be established, in virtue of this Act, and their suc- 
cessors, shall be capable in law to purchase and hold in fee-simple a quantity 
of land not exceeding two acres, for the use of any one Church, Society, or 
Congregation by gift or grant of any person or persons or bodies politic, 
capable in law to make the same; Provided, Such gift or grant be made by 
indenture, duly executed and recorded agreeably to law, and in no other 
manner whatever ; and also that every the said body corporate, and their 
successors, or a majority of them, severally, by their respective names, may 
take and receive any sum or sums of money, any kind, manner, or portion, 
of goods and chattels that shall be sold or given to them as aforesaid by any 
person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, capable in law to make a 
gift or sale thereof, and employ the same for the benefit and use of the 
particular Church, Society, or Congregation whereunto they respectively be- 
long as a body politic or corporate; Provided, That all and every gift, grant, 
bargain, sale, or deed of transfer, made by any person or persons, and not 
intended to take effect and vest in any religious body or corporation during 
the life of the giver, grantor or seller, but to become their right and property 
after his, her, or their decease, shall be utterly null, void, and of no effect; 
and Provided also, That the clear yearly value of the estates, rents, annuities, 
or other hereditaments of any Church, Society, or Congregation thus incor- 
porated shall not amount to more than the clear yearly value of two thousand 
dollars, and all gifts, grants, sales and transfers to any of the said corpora- 
tions, or their successors, after the clear yearly value of their estate shall 
amount to two thousand dollars, and all bargains and purchases to be made 
by any of them which may increase the 3'early value of the said estates above 
and beyond the standard here fixed, shall be utterly null, void, and of no 
effect. 1 

IX. And be it enacted, That the limitations in point of annual value 
aforesaid shall not be understood to affect the estate, property, interest, or in- 
heritance, or the income arising therefrom, which any Christian Church, Con- 
gregation, or Society, may be in possession of at the time of passing this Act; 
and, 

X. Whereas, It is necessary for the greater effect of the preaching of 
the Gospel that men should be permitted to employ, and sit under the 
teachings of those whom they find or esteem most capable of instructing 
them, and enforcing the precepts of religious truth, in whose character and 
faithfulness they have most confidence; therefore, Be it enacted, That 
where any number of persons, belonging to any Church or Congregation 
sufficient to build a Church or house of worship, and to maintain a Minister, 
shall choose to separate from the Church or Congregation of which they 
have hitherto been a part, and to erect a house of worship, and to employ a 
Minister for themselves, it shall be lawful for them so to do, and they shall, 
by their respective name or style, be entitled to all the benefits of this Act 
as aforesaid, anything in the Act for the establishment of Vestries for each 
Parish in this State to the contrary notwithstanding; Provided only, That all 
arrears, debts and, engagements contracted, due, or. becoming due, while 
members of the former Society, shall be punctually and faithfully discharged. 

XL And be it enacted, That so much of the Act for the establishment 
of Vestries for each Parish in this State as confers the powers of civil officers 
of the peace upon Churchwardens, be, and the same are hereby, declared 
null and void. 

XII. And be it enacted, That this Act shall not repeal any part of the 
Act for the establishment of Vestries for each Parish in this State, except so 
far as the same is inconsistent with the tenth and eleventh sections of this Act. 



1 See Act 1815, c. 222. 



112 LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



XIII. And be it enacted, That nothing herein contained shall be con- 
strued, adjudged or taken, to abridge or affect the rights of conscience or 
private judgment, or in the least to alter or change the religious constitution 
or government of any Church, Congregation, or Society, so far as respects, or 
in any wise concerns, doctrine, discipline or worship. 



1815— Chapter 222. 

A supplement to the Act entitled an Act to incorporate certain persons in 
every Christian Church or Congregation in this State. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That every 
Christian Church, or Society, or Congregation, that is now, or shall hereafter 
be, incorporated in virtue of the Act entitled "An Act to incorporate certain 
persons in every Christian Church or Congregation in this State," passed at 
November session, eighteen hundred and two, to which this is a supplement, 
and their successors, shall and may have perpetual succession, and shall and 
may at all times hereafter be persons able and capable in law to purchase, 
take, and hold to them and their successors, in fee, or for any less estate or 
estates, any lands, tenements, hereditaments, rents, or annuities within this 
State, by the gift, bargain, sale, or devise of any person or persons, bodies 
politic and corporate, capable of making the same, and such lands, tenements, 
or hereditaments, to rent or lease in such a manner as they may judge most 
conducive to the interest of their respective Churches, Societies, and Congre- 
gations, and also to take and receive any sum or sums of money, and any 
kind of goods and chattels which may or shall be given, sold, or bequeathed 
unto them by any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, capable to 
make a gift, sale, or bequest thereof, and to apply the same for the use of their 
respective Churches, Societies, or Congregation, as effectually as the same 
could be applied by the Vestry of the Protestant Episcopal Church of this 
State, to their respective Parishes, in virtue of the Act passed at the Novem- 
ber session, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight, chapter twenty- four; Pro- 
z ided, That the clear yearly value of the estate of any Church, Society, or 
Congregation (exclusive of the rents of pews, collections in Churches, funeral 
charges, and the like), shall not exceed the clear yearly value allowed to any 
Vestry of the Protestant Episcopal Church ot this State, in virtue of the Act 
of seventeen hundred and ninety-eight, chapter twenty-four, aforesaid. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That so much of the original Act, to which 
this is a supplement, as is repugnant to, or inconsistent with this Act, be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed. 



1846— Chapter 323. 

An Act to authorize Incorporations in certain cases. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That from 
and after the passage of this Act the power and authority is hereby granted 
to any individuals, other than free negroes and mulattoes, in any city or 
county in this State, under any name by them assumed, to associate for 
the purpose of establishing lyceums, libraries, Masonic or other lodges, fire 
companies, associations for literary, dramatic, moral, social, charitable, and 
religious purposes, or connected with the promotion of arts and sciences; 
and being so associated, shall, on complying with the provisions of this Act, 



LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



be considered a body politic and corporate; may choose a president and 
other officers; may enact by-laws for the regulation of the affairs of such 
corporation not inconsistent with the laws of this State, and compel due 
observance thereof by suitable penalties, may sue and be sued, answer and 
be answered, in any court of law or equity, and do all acts necessary and 
proper for the well ordering of the affairs of such corporation; Provided, 
however, That before any such association shall be entitled to the privileges 
of this Act, they shall lodge with the clerk of the county wherein such cor- 
poration is designed to act, a copy of their articles of association, signed by 
the members originating the same, to be by him recorded ; Provided also, That 
this Act may at any time be altered and repealed by the General Assembly. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the privileges of this Act shall not be ex- 
tended to joint stock companies formed for the purpose of banking, trading, 
mining, manufacturing, or to associations intended for the accumulation of 
capital, with a view to profits and dividends for gains ; which shall remain 
as heretofore, subject to the special action of the Legislature. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the property, real or personal, or capital 
stock of every such corporation contemplated by this Act, shall in no case 
exceed the sum of ten thousand dollars; and it shall not be lawful for the 
said corporation to direct its operations or appropriate its funds to any other 
than the purpose distinctly and definitely expressed in the articles of associa- 
tion, and no increase of the capital, or funds of any such corporation, beyond 
said sum shall be lawful but by application to and consent of the Legislature ; 
otherwise, such increase shall operate as a dissolution of said corporation as 
to all the privileges herein granted. 



CODE OF MARYLAND 

OF 1904. 



PUBLIC GENERAL LAWS. 

o 

ARTICLE XXIII. CORPORATIONS. 

14. Corporations may be formed in this State under the provisions here- 
inafter set forth, by any five or more persons, citizens of the United States 
and a majority of them citizens of this State, or, if unnaturalized, residents of 
this State, making oath that they bona fide intend to become citizens of the 
United States without unreasonable delay, who may desire to form a body 
corporate or politic for any of the following purposes : 

Class 1. For the creation and maintenance of educational, moral, scien- 
tific, literary, dramatic, musical, social, benevolent, or beneficial societies or 
associations of all descriptions; of religious or charitable societies or associa- 
tions, fire engines and hose companies, and of uniformed volunteer companies, 
of universities, colleges, academies, hospitals or asylums; Provided, Such 
corporations are located in this State, and that the property which they pos- 
sess or acquire is located therein, but corporations formed for the creation 
and maintenance of educational associations, universities, colleges, academies, 
hospitals or asylums, may take and hold any property, real or personal, situate 
out of this State, which may be given, granted, devised or bequeathed to said 
corporations, and may hold, use or sell and convey the same, or may deal with 
it in any manner not inconsistent with law. 

$ ♦ ♦ ♦ * ^ ♦ * 

50. Any five or more persons, citizens of the United States and a majority 
of them citizens of this State, who may desire to form a corporation for any 
of the purposes hereinbefore referred to, shall make, sign, seal and acknowl- 
edge before some officer competent to take the acknowledgment of deeds a 
certificate in writing, in which shall be stated : 1. The names in full and 
place of residence of the applicants. 2. The proposed corporate name of the 
corporation, which shall always include the name of the county or city in 
which it may be formed. 3. The objects or purposes for which incorporation 
is sought, the time of its existence, not to exceed forty years, and the articles, 
conditions, and provisions under which the incorporation is formed ; Provided, 
That the limitation as to the duration of the existence of corporations formed 
under this Article shall not apply to * * * cemetery companies, or to cor- 
porations formed for the creation or maintenance of educational associations, 



LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



115 



universities, colleges, academies, hospitals or asylums; and that certificates of 
incorporation of all corporations named in the proviso may contain provisions 
for perpetual existence. 4. The place or places where the operations of the 
corporation are to be carried on, and the place in this State in which the 
principal office of the corporation will be located. 5. The amount of capital 
stock (if any) of the corporation. 6. The number of shares of stock (if 
any) and the amount of each share. 7. The number of trustees, directors 
or managers and their names, who shall manage the concerns of the cor- 
poration for the first year. 

51. When said certificate is executed it shall be the duty of the persons 
executing the same to submit it to one of the judges of the judicial circuit 
within which the principal or any other office of said corporation is, under 
said certificate, to be located, if it shall be located in one of the counties in 
this State, or to one of the judges of the Supreme Bench in Baltimore City, 
if the principal office of said corporation shall be located in Baltimore City, 
in order that the said judge may determine whether the said certificate is 
in conformity with the law; and such determination, when certified by the 
said judge, as required by the next succeeding section, shall be conclusive 
evidence that such certificate does conform to the law. 

52. If the said judge shall so determine he shall certify his said deter- 
mination upon the said certificate, which shall thereupon be recorded in the 
office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court for the county in which the principal 
office of said corporation shall by the terms of said certificate be located, if it 
shall be located in one of the counties of this State, or in the office of the 
Clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore City, if the principal office of said 
corporation shall be located therein; and the said certificate shall be recorded 
in a book provided for that special purpose. 

53. When the said certificate shall have been recorded the persons who 
have signed and acknowledged the same and their successors shall, according 
to the objects, purposes, articles, conditions, and provisions in said instrument 
contained, become and be a body politic and corporate, in fact and in law, 
by the name stated in such certificate. 

******* * 

301. In every church, religious society or congregation, of whatever sect, 
order or denomination, or which shall at any time hereafter be known or 
acknowledged in the State, and protected in the free and full exercise of its 
religion by the Constitution and laws thereof, there shall be sufficient power 
and authority in all persons above twenty-one years of age, belonging to 
any such church, society or congregation, to elect, at their discretion, certain 
sober and discreet persons, not less than four nor more than twelve, which 
persons so elected, upon being registered as hereinafter directed, shall be 
constituted a body politic or corporate to act as trustees in the name and 
behalf of the particular church, society or congregation for which they are 
respectively chosen, and to manage the estate, property, interest and inherit- 
ance of the same. 



116 LAWS OF MARYLAND OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



302. The Trustees so elected shall have perpetual succession by their 
name of incorporation, and shall be capable in law to purchase, take and 
hold to them and their successors in fee, or for a less estate, any lands, 
tenements or hereditaments, rents or annuities, goods or chattels within 
this State, by the gift, bargain, sale, or devise of any person, body politic 
or corporate, capable of making the same, and to use or lease, mortgage or 
sell and convey the same in such manner as they may judge most conducive 
to the interest of their respective churches, societies or congregations ; Pro- 
vided, That nothing herein shall authorize any sale, mortgage or other dis- 
position of any property held by such corporation, under any instrument 
prohibiting such sale; and provided the clear yearly income from the estate 
of any church, society or congregation, exclusive of the rents of pews, col- 
lections in Churches, funeral charges and the like, shall not exceed the yearly 
sum of twenty thousand dollars. 

303. Every such body politic shall be chosen, and the succession kept up 
at such times and places as are ordinarily used for public meetings of the 
said church, society or congregation, and by such persons as are allowed 
to have a voice in the management and direction of congregational or tem- 
poral concerns, according to the known custom and usage of their respective 
denominations; or the said body politic or corporate shall be chosen and 
the succession kept up according to the rules, regulations and practice that 
may have been heretofore adopted and agreed upon, or that shall be, at the 
first time of electing, agreed upon and adopted by any particular church, 
society or congregation for directing or managing their congregational or 
temporal affairs. 

304. The Minister, for the time being, or senior Minister, where there 
are more than one settled in any church, society or congregation, shall 
always, in virtue of his ministry, be a member of the body politic or corporate 
belonging to the same, exclusive of the number heretofore prescribed in 
Section 301. 

305. If any contest shall arise in any church, society or congregation, 
about the right of voting, or whether the election has been fairly conducted 
agreeably to the true intent and meaning of this Article, the parties con- 
tending shall each of them choose one discreet and reputable person from 
amongst the members or trustees of some neighboring congregation or so- 
ciety of the same religious persuasion, if any such there be, and if none such, 
then of any other religious society, which two persons shall choose a third, 
qualified in like manner, and the said three persons shall meet at the place 
where the difference has arisen, and hear and determine upon the matter; 
and their judgment and award, or the judgment or award of a majority of 
them, certified under their hands and seals to the contending parties, shall 
be final. 

306. At the first election or appointment of every body politic or cor- 
porate aforesaid, every church, society or corporation assembled, as already 
directed, shall determine on their plan, agreement or regulation, specifying 



LAWS OF MARY LAX D 



OX RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



117 



distinctly the time and manner of electing trustees, and the manner in which 
the succession shall be perpetuated, and containing an exact description of 
the qualifications of the persons severally electing and elected, and to elect 
and to be elected thereafter, and also the name, style or title of the corpora- 
tion by which it shall thereafter be known, and the name of the church, 
society or congregation choosing the same. 

307. The said plan, agreement or regulation shall be entered in the 
book hereinafter required by Section 310, to be kept by every such corpora- 
tion, and the same shall be acknowledged by the trustees, or a majority of 
them, before a justice of the peace, a notary public, or a judge of the Circuit 
Court in the counties, or a judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City; 
and such justice, notary or judge shall append to said instrument a certificate 
of such acknowledgment, and in all cases where through inadvertence or mis- 
take, such plan, agreement, or regulation has been heretofore acknowledged 
before one justice of the peace instead of two, such acknowledgment shall be, 
and is hereby, made, to all intents and purposes, good and sufficient for the 
incorporation of the church, society or congregation named therein. 1 

308. The plan or agreement, so acknowledged and certified, shall be 
filed by the said Trustees with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for the county 
where the said church, society or congregation, or the greater part of the 
members thereof reside, or the Clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore City, 
if they, or the greater part of the members, reside in the City of Baltimore, 
within six months after such acknowledgment shall be made ; and the same 
shall be recorded at the expense of the corporation, in a book to be kept for 
that special purpose. 

309. If any change shall be made in the original plan by authority of the 
congregation, such change shall, in the same manner, be acknowledged and 
recorded. 

310. Every such corporation may appoint the times and places of the 
meeting of its members, and the number necessary to constitute a quorum, 
and shall provide and keep a good and sufficient record book, and cause 
therein to be registered all its proceedings, subject at all times to the inspec- 
tion of the several members of the church, society or congregation ; and the 
same shall be laid before a public meeting when required by any five or more 
of the members; and the said trustees, or a majority of them, shall have full 
power to frame such rules and ordinances for conducting their concerns as 
may be necessary and convenient for accomplishing the end of their insti- 
tution. 

311. When any number of persons belonging to any church or congre- 
gation, sufficient to build a church or house of worship, and to maintain a 
Minister, shall choose to separate from the church or congregation of which 
they have hitherto been a part, and to erect a house of worship, and employ 
a Minister for themselves, it shall be lawful for them to do so ; and they shall, 

1 Act of 1892, c. 664, amended this section as above. 



118 LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



by their respective name or style, be entitled to all the benefits of this Article 
relating to their incorporation ; Provided only, That all arrearages, debts, and 
engagements contracted, due or becoming due, while members of the former 
Society, shall be discharged. 

312. The person or persons holding lands or goods and chattels in trust 
for any particular church or society shall convey the same to the corporation 
of such particular church or society, as soon as the same shall be formed 
under this Article. 

******* * 

ARTICLE XXVII. CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS. 

Destroying Church Property Maliciously. 

76. If any person unlawfully and maliciously shall disfigure, cut, mutilate, 
injure or damage any church, house of worship, its pews, seats, walls, win- 
dows, shutters, trees, tombstones, fencing, inclosures or other property 
in or belonging thereto, or any parsonage, its furniture, trees, fencing or 
inclosures, near and belonging to the same, he shall, on conviction before 
a justice of the peace, or the Circuit Court for the county or Criminal Court 
of Baltimore, where the said property may be situated, be deemed guilty 
of a misdemeanor, and fined in the discretion of the said justice or court in 
a sum of money not less than three dollars nor more than fifty dollars for any 
one offence, and shall stand committed to the public jail of the county or city 
until the fine and fees shall be paid. 

Collection of Tolls from Funerals. 

98. No turnpike, bridge or ferry company, and no proprietors of any turn- 
pike or other road, bridge or ferry, shall collect any tolls upon any carriages 
or other vehicles, or horses, going to or returning from any funeral; every 
toll-gatherer who shall knowingly collect any tolls contrary to the above pro- 
visions, or who shall knowingly refuse to allow any horse or vehicle going to 
or returning from a funeral, to pass without payment of toll, shall forfeit 
and pay for every such offense a sum of not less than $50 and not more than 
$100, one-half to the informer and the other half to the State; and the com- 
pany or other parties owning sucri road, bridge or ferry shall also be re- 
sponsible for the same. 



Marrying Unlawfully. 

298. If any Minister shall knowingly celebrate the rites of marriage be- 
tween any persons related in the degrees of kindred and affinity prohibited by 
law, he shall, on conviction, pay five hundred dollars. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 119 



299. If any Minister, Pastor or other person who, according to the laws 
of this State do usually join people in marriage, shall upon any pretense join 
in marriage any negro with any white person, he shall, on conviction, be fined 
one hundred dollars. 

300. If any person shall celebrate the rites of marriage between any per- 
sons except the persons authorized by the laws of this State to celebrate the 
rites of marriage, such person, on conviction thereof, shall be fined five 
hundred dollars. 

303. If any Minister shall marry any person without such license or pub- 
lication, on conviction thereof, he shall be fined one hundred dollars. 

304. If any Minister shall knowingly join in marriage any male under the 
age of twenty-one years, or any female under the age of sixteen years, and 
not before married, without the consent of the parent or guardian of every 
such person, personally given or signified under the hand and seal of the said 
parent or guardian, and attested by two witnesses, he shall, on conviction, be 
fined fifteen hundred dollars. 

ARTICLE LXII. MARRIAGES. 

1. If any person within this State shall marry within any of the degrees 
of kindred or affinity expressed in the following table the marriage shall 
be void. 

2. A man shall not marry — 

His grandmother. 

His grandfather's wife. 

His wife's grandmother. 

His father's sister. 

His mother's sister. 

His mother. 

His stepmother. 

His wife's mother. 

His daughter. 

His wife's daughter. 

His son's wife. 

His sister. 

His son's daughter. 

His daughter's daughter. 

His son's son's wife. 

His daughter's son's wife. 

His wife's son's daughter. 

His wife's daughter's daughter. 

His brother's daughter. 

His sister's daughter. 



120 LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



A woman shall not marry — 
Her grandfather. 
Her grandmother's husband. 
Her husband's grandfather. 
Her father's brother. 
Her mother's brother. 
Her father. 
Her stepfather. 
Her husband's father. 
Her son. 

Her daughter's son. 
Her husband's son. 
Her daughter's husband. 
Her brother. 
Her son's son. 

Her son's daughter's husband. 

Her daughter's daughter's husband. . 

Her husband's son's son. 

Her husband's daughter's son. 

Her brother's son. 

Her sister's son. 

3. All marriages heretofore made and celebrated in or out of this State 
prior to March 9, 1860, by and between persons related within the following 
degrees of affinity, to wit : A man and his niece, or a woman and her nephew, 
are hereby confirmed and made valid, to every intent and purpose, from the 
time of the celebration of such marriages, respectively; and every such mar- 
riage shall be held and taken by all courts of this State to be good and suffi- 
cient in law to all intents and purposes. 

4. No person within this State shall be joined in marriage until a license 
shall have been obtained from the Clerk of the Circuit Court for the county 
in which the marriage is to be performed, or if in Baltimore City, from the 
Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, or unless the names of the parties in- 
tending to marry shall be thrice published in some Church or house of re- 
ligious worship in the county where the woman resides on three several Sun- 
days by some Minister residing in said county; Provided nevertheless, That 
any person within this State may marry according to the ceremony used by 
the society of people called Quakers, the contracting parties signing a certifi- 
cate to the effect that they have agreed to take each other for husband and 
wife, and such certificate being attested by at least twelve witnesses ; and, 
Provided further, That the said certificate shall, within sixty days, be recorded 
either amongst the records of the society to which either of the contracting 
parties may belong, or in some court of record in the city or county in which 
the said marriage may be accomplished. The license required by this Article 
shall be in the following form, to wit: State of Maryland, and county of 
, to any Minister of the Gospel, or other officer or person authorized 



LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



121 



by the laws of this State to solemnize marriage, you are hereby authorized to 
join together in the holy state of matrimony, according to the rules and cere- 
monies of your Church, Society or religious sect, and the laws of this State, 

A. B. and C. D. Given under my hand and the seal of the Circuit Court for 

county [or the Court of Common Pleas of Baltimore City], at this 

day of A. D., one thousand 1 — Clerk. 

The license shall have appended to it two certificates framed to correspond 
with said license, which shall be in form as follows : I hereby certify that on 

this day of one thousand at A B 

and C D were by me united in marriage in accordance with 

the license issued by the clerk of the court for county (or 

city), Maryland; which certificates shall be signed by the Minister or other 
person who performed the ceremony, giving his name and official character ; 
one of the said certificates shall be handed to the contracting parties, and the 
other shall, within thirty days from the date of the marriage, be returned to 
the clerk of the court from which it was issued. 

5. Before the clerk of any of said courts shall issue any such license, he 
shall examine, on oath, the person making application for the same, to 
ascertain first, the full names of the parties ; second, their places of residence ; 
third, their ages; fourth, their color; fifth, whether married or single; sixth, 
whether related or, not, and if so, in what degree of relationship ; which facts 
shall be set out in a printed form, to be signed by the person making the 
application. 

6. The clerk of each of said courts shall procure and keep a suitable and 
well-bound book in his office and among his records, to be called "The Mar- 
riage License Book," in which he shall make a complete record of the issuing 
of said license, and all the matters which he shall be required to ascertain, 
relative to the rights of said parties to obtain said license, in which record 
shall appear in regular order the items testified to by the applicants for the 
marriage license as above set forth ; and the names of each of the contracting 
parties shall be properly indexed ; and upon the return of the certificate afore- 
said, it shall appear in said record when the same was filed, and the name 
of the Minister, or other person or persons by whom the ceremony was per- 
formed. 

7. No such license shall issue unless the male be above the age of twenty- 
one years, and the female above the age of sixteen years; Provided however, 
That if the parents or guardian assent thereto in person, or by writing, at- 
tested by two witnesses, such license may issue, and the fact of such assent 
shall be made part of the record aforesaid. 

8. If, in the course of the examination of any applicant for a marriage 
license, it shall appear to the clerk of the court that any legal impediment 
exists under the laws of this State, why the said parties shall not be joined 
in marriage, he shall withhold said license, unless ordered by the court of 
which he is clerk, to issue the same. 



122 LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 



9. A certified copy of the record of said marriage license and certificate 
under the hand of said clerk and seal of said court shall be received in all 
courts of this State as prima facie evidence of said marriage between the 
parties named therein. 

10. The clerk of the court shall receive one dollar for every license issued 
as aforesaid, and for the performance of the other duties required by this 
Article. 

11. Such license, when produced, shall be full authority to any Minister 
or other person authorized to marry, receiving the same, to proceed with 
the marriage of the parties named therein ; Provided, That should any Minis- 
ter or other person marry persons without such license, he shall, on conviction 
thereof, be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hun- 
dred dollars, in the discretion of the court; and Provided further, That any 
Minister or other person so performing such marriage ceremony, who shall 
fail to return within the period of thirty days from the date of such marriage, 
to the clerk of the court issuing said license, one of the certificates of mar- 
riage mentioned in Section 4 of this Article, shall, on conviction thereof, be 
fined not less than ten dollars. 

12. In all cases when marriages shall be celebrated after publication of 
banns, it shall be the duty of the Minister celebrating the marriage to 
make two certificates in the following form : I do hereby certify that on this 

day of one thousand , at , A B and 

C D , were by me united in marriage ; the names of said par- 
ties having first been thrice published on three several Sundays in , 

a house of religious worship; county, State of Maryland, by , a 

Minister resident in said county, which he shall sign, giving his name and 
official character and immediately after he has celebrated the marriage, the 
Minister shall give one of the certificates to the persons whom he has married, 
and he shall transmit one of the certificates to the Clerk of the Circuit Court 
for the county where the marriage was celebrated, or to the Clerk of the 
Court of Common Pleas, if the marriage be celebrated in Baltimore City, 
who shall record the same in a book kept for that purpose, receiving a fee 
of fifteen cents for recording each certificate, to be paid by the Minister 
sending the certificate for record, a copy of such certificate of the Minister 
when recorded in the clerk's office hereinbefore provided, certified to by the 
clerk under the seal of his office shall be prima facie evidence of the fact of 
such marriage. 1 

13. Any Minister who shall fail within sixty days to transmit the certificate 
to the clerk for record shall be subject on conviction to a fine of ten dollars 
for each offense. 1 

15. All marriages heretofore made and celebrated in this State prior to 
March 22, 1867, by and between colored people, are hereby confirmed and 
made valid, to every intent and purpose, from the time of the celebration of 
such marriages, respectively; and every such marriage shall be held and 



1 These sections added by 1890, c. 465. 



LAWS OF MARYLAND ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS. 123 



taken, by all courts of this State, to be good and sufficient in law to all intents 
and purposes ; Provided, That in every case the parties claiming to have been 
married by a competent person shall, by sufficient proof before some justice 
of the peace, establish the fact of having been so married, a certificate of 
which shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for the county in 
which said marriage was celebrated, or the Court of Common Pleas of Balti- 
more City, and be preserved with the register of marriage licenses in the 
office of the said clerk. 



ARTICLE LXXXI. REVENUE AND TAXES. 
Exemptions from Taxation. 

. * 

By Section 4 the provisions of law levying taxes shall not apply to the fol- 
lowing, among other property mentioned : 

"To houses or buildings used exclusively for public worship, nor to the 
furniture contained therein, nor to the parsonage connected therewith, nor 
to the grounds appurtenant to such houses, nor to buildings so exclusively 
used for public worship or as parsonages which are necessary for the re- 
spective uses thereof; nor to graveyards, cemeteries or cemetery companies 
which do not accumulate profits for any purpose except for the maintenance 
or improvement of such cemeteries or graveyards as cemeteries or grave- 
yards, nor to burying grounds set apart for the use of any family or belonging 
to any church or congregation; * * * nor to buildings, equipment and 
furniture of hospitals, asylums, charitable or benevolent- institutions, nor to 
the grounds appurtenant thereto, in any city or incorporated town of this 
State which are necessary to the respective uses thereof, nor to the buildings, 
equipments and furniture of hospitals, asylums, or charitable institutions of 
any county in this State, but not within any city or incorporated town of this 
State, nor to the ground not exceeding forty acres appurtenant, respectively, 
thereto, which is necessary for the respective uses thereof, nor to buildings, 
furniture, equipment or libraries of incorporated educational or literary in- 
stitutions, or to the ground appurtenant thereto in any city or incorporated 
town of this State which are necessary to the respective uses therof ; nor to 
the buildings, equipment and furniture of hospitals, asylums, charitable or 
benevolent institutions of any county in this State, but not within any incor- 
porated city or town of this State; nor to the ground, not exceeding forty 
acres, appurtenant, respectively, thereto, which are necessary for the respective 
uses thereof; nor to the buildings, furniture, equipment or libraries of incor- 
porated educational or literary institutions, nor to the grounds appurtenant 
thereto in any city or incorporated town of this State, which are necessary 
for the respective uses thereof ; nor to the buildings, equipment or libraries of 
incorporated educational or literary institutions in any county of this State; 
nor to the ground, not exceeding forty acres, appurtenant thereto which are 
necessary for the respective uses thereof." 



INDEX 



PAGE. 

Absentees from Convention to be noted by Secretary (C. II) 10 

Accumulating Episcopal Fund 61 

Accurate view of state of Church (C. 47, §/) 34-35 

Accused Clergymen (see clergymen) 18-23 

Acts of Assembly — 

June 9, 1692 43 

June 9, 1692, repealed 44 

March, 1702, to establish religious worship, etc 44 

March, 1779 44 

November, 1779 : 44 

1784, Ch. 78, incorporating Corporation for Relief of Widows and 

Children, etc 99 

1798, Ch. 24, Vestries Act 74 

1798, Ch. 24, when it went into effect (Sec. XXXIV) . 81 

1779, Ch. 44, to incorporate Benevolent Society of City and County 

of Baltimore 96 

1802, Ch. 105, incorporating St. Peter's Church 88 

1802, Ch. Ill, relating to incorporation of Christian Churches and 
Congregations (now repealed) 108 

1803, Ch. 45, amending incorporation of St. Peter's Church 88 

1805, Ch. 6, incorporating St. Peter's School 90 

1815, Ch. 222, relating to incorporation of Churches (since repealed) . 112 

1821, Ch. 234, relating to Rector of St. John's Parish, Harford and 
Baltimore Counties 102 

1822, Ch. 4, relating to St. John's Church, Queen Caroline Parish... 103 

1823, Ch. 189, relating to Vestries 81 

1827, Ch. 20, abolishing Associate Rectors 82 

1828, Ch. 136, incorporating Christ Church 92 

1828, Ch. 136, Sec. 3, abolishing stated Vestry meetings 82 

1833, Ch. 196, for establishment of Vestries in each Parish of this , 

State 83 

1837, Ch. 189, incorporating Hannah More Academy 104 

1840, Ch. 67, incorporating the Convention of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church for the Diocese of Maryland 83 

1840, Ch. 67, acceptance thereof 42 

1840, Ch. 107, incorporating Christ Church Asylum for Female Chil- 
dren 93 



126 



INDEX. 



Acts of Assembly — Continued. page. 

1843, Ch. 253, incorporating St James' College 86 

1846, Ch. 172, prohibiting sale of liquor within two miles of St. James' 

College 87 

1846, Ch. 323, repealed 112 

1848, Ch. 209, incorporating St. Timothy's Hall 96 

1849, Ch. 525, incorporating St. Peter's Asylum for Female Children. 91 

1852, Ch. 319, amending incorporation of St. Timothy's Hall 96 

1856, Ch. 17, amending incorporation of Convention 85 

1856, Ch. 17, acceptance of 42 

1856, Ch. 95, incorporating Boys' School of St. Paul's Parish, Balto.. 98 

1858, Ch. 30, relating to Vestry of St. Peter's Church, Baltimore 89 

1858, Ch. 381, amending charter of St. James' College 87 

1860, Ch. 209, for benefit of Baltimore City Protestant Episcopal Mis- 
sionary Committee 107 

1872, Ch. 297, amending incorporation of Christ Church 94 

1874, Ch. 15, amending incorporation of Hannah More Academy 105 

1878, Ch. 403, amending incorporation of Convention 85 

1878, Ch. 403, acceptance of 49 

1884, Ch. 131, amending incorporation of Corporation for Relief of 

Widows and Children, etc 101 

1886, Ch. 467, amending incorporation of St. Timothy's Hall.. 96 

1892, Ch. 702, amending incorporation of Convention (not accepted) . 58 

Advocate of Church, see also Ecclesiastical Court (C. XIV) 18 

Alms and Contributions (C 15, § II, s. iv) 29 

Almoner (C. 15, §11, s. iv) 29 

Alternate Deputies (see Deputies to General Convention) 26 

Apportionment to be used in Journal in place of word "assessment".... 52 
Archdeacons and Archdeaconries — 

Archdeacons and Archdeaconries (C. VIII, IX) 14-17 

Members ex-officio Committee of Missions (C. VIII , s. 2) 14 

To be four (C. IX, s. 1) 15-16 

To be organized under direction of Bishop, who shall preside when 

present (C. IX, s. 2) 16 

When to meet and of whom to consist (C IX, s. 3) 16 

Each to elect a layman to be member • of Committee of Missions. 

(C. IX, s. 4) 16 

Duties of Archdeaconries (C IX, s. 5) 16-17. 

Each to conduct work and distribute funds within its own limits and 

to apportion funds to be raised 60 

May undertake Special Missionary Work with consent of Bishop 60 

Assessment (C V) " H 

When payable..... 49 

Assistant Bishop — 

Salary 47 

Method of raising same 47 



INDEX. 127 

Assistant Secretary — PAGE. 

Duties (C. XXVIII, s. 4.) 27 

Auditing Accounts, Committee on 59 

Baltimore City Protestant Episcopal Missionary Committee (C. VIII, 

s. 9, 10) 15-102 

Articles of association of 106 

Act 1860, Ch. 209 107 

Banns of marriage 121-122 

Baptism, registry of, to be signed by officiating Minister (C. 15, § 777, s. ii) 30 
Benevolent Society of the City and County of Baltimore incorporated, 

Act 1799, Ch. 44 96 

Amendment of same, Act 1886, Ch. 467 98 

Bishop — 

Election of (Con., Art. 5) 6 

Concurrent and majority vote of both Orders necessary to elect 

(Con,, Art. 5) 6 

To be President of Convention (Con., Art. 6) 6 

To give Convention general view of state of Church (Con., Art. 6) . . 6 

When to call special Convention (Con., Art. 6) 6 

May make motions in Convention (Con., Art. 6) 6 

Shall not enter into debate in Convention, but may deliver his senti- 
ments on subjects before vote thereon (Con., Art. 6) 6 

Vacancy in Episcopal office (Con., Art. 7) 7 

With consent of Standing Committee, to fill vacancy in office of 

Treasurer until next Convention (C. IV, s. 2) 11 

Salary of and provisions for defraying same (C.V.) 11 

To receive application for formation of new Parish or Congregation 

three months before meeting of Convention (C. VII, s. 2) 12 

To transmit such application, etc., to Committee on New Parishes 
and Congregations at least 60 days before next Convention 

C. VII, s. 2) 13 

Parish or Congregation applying for admission to Convention to 
place petition in hands of Bishop three months before meeting of 

Convention (C. VII, s. 3) 13 

To transmit same to Committee on New Parishes and Congregations 

at least 60 days before meeting of Convention (C. VII, s. 3) 13 

To report Church which has forfeited union with Convention 

(C. VII, s. 4) 13 

Together with Standing Committee to consent to establishment of new 

places of worship (C. VII, s. 5) 14 

Member ex-officio of Committee of Missions (C. VIII, s. 2) 14 

To organize and preside at meetings of Archdeaconries (C. IX, s. 2) 16 
May lay information against Clergyman before Standing Commit- 
tee (C. XII) 18 



128 INDEX. 

Bishop — Continued. page. 

To cause charges against Clergyman to be drawn up (C. XII) 18 

To appoint Church Advocate in such cases (C. XII) 18 

Biennially, with consent of Convention from 1847, to appoint seven 

Presbyters, not members of the Standing Committee, as Ecclesias- 
tical Court and with consent of Convention to fill vacancies 

(C. XIV) 19 

Church Advocate to deliver two signed copies of charges against 

Clergyman to (C. XIV) 19 

To transmit one copy to accused, with notice of time and place of 

trial (C. XIV) 19 

To issue precept to Ecclesiastical Court directing them, or five or 

more of them, to proceed with trial of accused (C. XIV) . . . . 19 

To transmit signed copy of charges to President of Ecclesiastical 

Court (C. XIV) 20 

To convene Ecclesiastical Court immediately after its election for 

purpose of electing President and Secretary (C. XIV) 20 

If Ecclesiatical Court finds Clergyman guilty, opinion, testimony 

etc., to be sent to Bishop (C. XIX) 22 

If he concurs, may suspend or degrade (C. XIX) 22 

May not punish beyond recommendation of Ecclesiastical Court 

(C. XIX) 22 

Shall pronounce all sentences (C. XX) 22 

Copy of sentence to be sent to accused and Vestry with which he is 

connected (C. XX) 22 

May give sentence such publicity as he sees fit (C. XX) 22 

Sentence of degradation, how made known (C. XX) 22 

Of another Diocese, when authorized to act (C. XXI) 23 

May examine records of Standing Committee (C. XXV) 25 

When to make supply to vacant Parishes and Congregations 

(C. XXV I) 25 

When to make supply to vacant Parishes and Congregations 

(C. 21, §/) ■ 28 

Informal ballots for election of 60 

Informal Ballots for election of (C. XXVII) 26 

Name of proposed Rector to be submitted to (C. 14, $11) 28 

Appointment of Deaconesses (C. 20) 1 33 

May transfer Deaconess from one Diocese to another (C. 20, § V) . . 33 

May license Lay Readers (C. 21) 33-34 

Ex-officio one of. Trustees of Episcopal Fund 38 

Ex-officio one of Trustees of Church Charities 46 

Salary of 50 

Official expenses of 50 

Penny 51 

Preliminary vote for 60 

When no Rector, consent necessary to sale of Church Property 

(Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxix) 80 



INDEX. 129 

Bishop Coadjutor — page. 
Notice of proposed election of to be given at Annual Convention 

preceding his election (Con., Art. 6) 6 

Salary of 47 

Member ex-officio of Committee of Missions (C. VIII, s. 2) 14 

Ex-officio member of Board of Church Charities 46 

Boys' School of St. Paul's (Act 1856, Ch. 95) . . . . 98 

Burials (C. 15, § III, s. i) 30 

Burials (Sec. XX) 79 

Call, form of 55 

Canons — 

Miscellaneous 24 

Of Maryland 7-27 

Of General Convention 28-36 

Committee on, Report of 53 

Certificate of Lay Delegates 73 

Catechism, instruction in (C. 15, § II, s. i) 29 

Change of Name of Church 51 

Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Howard County 52 

Charities, Board of Church (see also Trustees of Church Charities) ... .45-47 

Charter of Convention accepted 42-49 

Christ Church, Baltimore, incorporated (Act 1828, Ch. 136) 92 

Christ Church, Baltimore, incorporation amended (Act 1872, Ch. 297).. 94-95 

Christ Church Asylum for Female Children (Act 1840, Ch. 167) 93 

Church Building Fund 51 

Church of Holy Comforter, donation for, by Vestry of Trinity Church ... 63 

Church Home and Infirmary 52 

Church Home and Infirmary, Secretary to give a page of Journal for 

notices 52 

Church use and control (C. 15, § I, s. ii) . 29 

Church Music (C. 43) 34 

Churchwardens — 

Report on duties of 39-42 

To notify Bishop of vacancy in Parish or Congregation (C. 14, 

§//) 28 

Notify Ecclesiastical Authority of election of Rector, etc. (C. 14, 

§777) 28 

When they may assent to another Minister officiating in the Parish 

(C. 15, $IV, s. i).. 30 

When they may do so without consent of Rector (C. 15, § IV, s. ii) . 30 

When to make annual report to Bishop (C. 47, § I) 35 

Election of and term of office (C. 51, § 7) 36 

Consent necessary to sale or transfer of Church property 40 

May remove persons from the Church building for misconduct 40 

To report Ecclesiastical offences to the Bishop and Standing Commit- 
tee or, if the offender be a layman, to the Minister of the Parish. . 41 



130 



INDEX. 



Churchwardens — Continued. page. 
To provide the elements for the Communion when required by the 

Rector 41 

To certify to Bishop election of Rector of Parish 42 

To unite with Rector in certifying election of Assistant Minister 42 

To jointly with Minister to give Bishop information of state of Con- 
gregation 42 

Two to be selected each Easter Monday by Vestry (Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, s. xi) 77 

Oath to be taken by (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xi) 77 

Powers of (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xii) 77 

May be chosen at subsequent meeting of Vestry (Act 1798, Ch. 24, 

s. xiv) 77 

Penalty for refusing to act as such (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxvi) 80 

Consent necessary to sale of Church property (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s.xxix) 80 

Clergy (see also Ministers and Rectors) — 

When entitled to seat in Convention (Con., Art. 2) 5 

When entitled to seat in Convention (C.I) 9 

When not entitled to seat in Convention (Con., Art. 2) 5 

Infirm, when entitled to seat in Convention (C. I) 9 

When entitled to retiring allowance (C. VIII, s. 6) 15 

Duties in connection with Committee of Missions (C. VIII, s. 8) . . . . 15 

Absent from Convention (C. II) 10 

Support of (C. X) : 17 

Proceedings against 

Bishop may lay information against, before Standing Committee 

(C. XII) 18 

Standing Committee may present facts to Bishop as ground for 

charges against (C. XII) 18 

Bishop to cause charges to be drawn up (C. XII) 18 

Form of charges (C. XII) 18 

Bishop to appoint one person as Church Advocate (C. XIII) 18 

Accused to have right to call one person to assist him (C. XIII) ... 19 
Church Advocate to prepare and deliver two copies of charges to 

Bishop (C. XIV) 19 

Bishop to transmit one copy to accused, with notice of time and place 

of trial (C. XIV) , 19 

Bishop to fix time and place of trial (C. XIV) 19 

Charge to be delivered to accused or left at his place of abode at 

least 30 days before time for trial (C. XIV) 19 

Bishop to issue precept to Ecclesiastical Court directing trial of 

accused (C. XIV) 19 

Trial of 

Right to have witnesses summoned (C. XVI) 20 

Right to reasonable delay to obtain attendance of witnesses 

(C. XVI) 20 



INDEX. 131 

Clergy — Continued. page. 
Right to take depositions on reasonable notice of time and place 

(C. XVI).... 21 

What necessary to convict (C. XVI) 21 

All testimony to be under oath, administered by President of Court 

(C. XVI) 21 

Who may witness the trial (C. XVI) 21 

Presence of majority of Court necessary for trial (C. XVI) 21 

In what cases to be acquitted (C. XVI) 21 

Vote of three members of Court necessary to convict (C. XVI) 21 

Failing to attend trial, accused to be suspended for contumacy 

(C. XVII) , 21 

Accused may apply for trial within six months from such suspen- 
sion (C. XVII) 21 

When to be degraded from ministry for contumacy (C. XVII) 21 

Renouncing the ministry (C. XVIII) 22 

Separating from Communion of the Church (C XVIII) 22 

After notice, though absent, may be tried by Ecclesiastical Court 

(C. XVIII) 22 

May be sentenced in same manner as if present at trial (C. XVIII). 22 
When found guilty, opinion of Ecclesiastical Court, testimony, etc., 

to be sent to Bishop (C. XIX) 22 

If Bishop concurs, may reprove, degrade or suspend (CV XIX) 22 

Bishop may not punish beyond recommendation of Ecclesiastical 

Court (C. XIX) 22 

Bishop to pronounce all sentences (C. XX) 22 

Copy of sentence to be sent to accused and Vestry with which he 

is connected (C. XX) . . . . f 22 

Bishop may give sentence such other publicity as he sees fit (C XX). 22 

Sentence during vacancy in Episcopal office (C. XXI) 23 

To keep Parish Register (C. XXIV) 24 

Enrollment and transfer of Communicants 53 

To provide services and Sunday Schools for colored population 51 

College (see St. James' College, Warneld College). 

Collections for Diocesan Missions and Pastoral Aid 56 

Colored Population 51-54 

Clergy to provide services and Sunday Schools for 51 

Collection to be taken each year for such work 51 

Resolution for establishment of Sunday Schools and Industrial 

Schools for 54 

Committees — 

See Standing Committee. 
See Committee of Missions. 

On Records of Diocese, appointment, composition and duties of . . . . 45 
To obtain copies of charters of Parishes, etc., for filing in the Epis- 
copal Library 61 

On Canons and other business, to report on word "churches," etc. . . . 53 



132 



IXDEX. 



Committees — Continued. page. 
On Auditing Accounts, three laymen to be appointed at least two 

weeks before meeting of Convention — duties of 59 

On Ways and Means {C. IV) 11,47 

On Donations and Bequests, of whom to consist and duties 49 

To report annually to Convention 50 

When it may designate Trustees of Church Charities to administer 

gift 50 

Report accepting Church property at Curtis Bay 56 

On the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Howard County 52 

If to be elected by Convention by joint ballot, must receive majority 

vote of all members attending Convention {Con., Art. 9) 7 

Communicants — 

Enrollment and transfer of 53 

To have family worship (C. XXII) 23 

See Church Members. 

Communion Alms (C. 15, §77, s. iv) 29 

Confirmation, preparation for {C. 15. §77, ^. «) 29 

Congregation, new, erection of (see Xew Parishes and Congregations). 

Consent to officiate (C-15, $IV, s. i) 30 

Constitution of Diocese 5-8 

How altered {Con., Art. 11) 8 

Proposed changes to be transmitted to Vestries of Parishes and 

Congregations {Con., Art. 11) 8 

Changes, if approved at next Convention by majority of both Or- 
ders, to be effective {Con., Art 11) 8 

When Parishes and Congregations entitled to benefit of {Con., 

Art. 10) ' 7 

Assent to, how signified {Con.. Art. 10) 8 

After assent to, Parishes and Congregations to be bound thereby 

{Con., Art. 10) 8 

Convention (see also Bishop, President of Convention) — 

Annual, when to be held {Con., Art. 1) 5 

Of whom composed {Con., Art. 2) 5 

Clergymen entitled to seats in {Con., Art. 2) 5 

Clergymen entitled to seats in {C.I) 9 

Six months' canonical residence prior to. necessary {Con., Art. 2) . . 5 

Laymen entitled to seats in {Con , Art. 2) 5 

Each Parish and Separate Congregation entitled to at least one Lay 

Delegate {Con., Art. 2) 5 

When entitled to more than one Lay Delegate {Con., Art. 2) 5-6 

Declaration by Lay Delegate {Con., Art. 2) 6 

What constitutes quorum of {Con., Art. 3) 6 

Clergy and Laity to deliberate as one body {Con., Art. 4) 6 

Majority vote of both Orders necessary {Con., Art. 4^ 6 

Bishop to be President of {Con., Art. 6) 6 

To vote by Orders on requirement of 5 members {Con., Art. 4) 6 



INDEX. 133 

Convention — Continued. page. 

Vote by Orders to be separate (Con., Art. 4) 6 

Vote by Orders, concurrence of majority of both Orders necessary 

(Con., Art. 4) 6 

Special, to be called by Bishop (Con., Art. 6) 6 

When to elect President of (Con., Art. 7) 7 

Secretary of, to be chosen by joint ballot (Con., Art. 8) 7 

Secretary of, to remain in office until next Convention (Con., Art. 8) 7 
Secretary of, when ballot in election of may be dispensed with (Con., 

Art. 8) 7 

Secretary of, duties of (Con., Art. 8) 7 

Standing Committee to be elected annually by joint ballot of Clergy 
and Laity and to consist of seven members from the Orders of 

Priests (Con., Art. 9) 7 

Vacancies in Standing Committee to be filled by majority of remain- 
ing members (Con., Art. 9) 7 

Standing Committee must receive majority vote of all members at- 
tending (Con., Art. 9) 7 

Treasurer of (see Treasurer). 

Expenses of, how borne (C. V) , 11 

May by resolution require Vestries, etc., to pay such sums as neces- 
sary before November 1 of each year (C. V) 11 

When Church or Parish shall be regarded as having forfeited union 

with (C. VII, s. 4) 13 

How Church or Parish can be readmitted (C. VII, s. 4) 13-14 

When union with forfeited, no right to Lay Delegate in (C. VII, s. 4) 13 

Bishop to report Parish or Church in default to (C. VII, 4) 13 

Act 1840, Ch. 67, incorporating 83 

Act 1840, Ch. 67, acceptance of 37 

May divide or unite Parishes (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxxiii) 81 

Powers of (Act 1840, Ch. 67, s. 2) 84 

Effect of acceptance of Act (Act 1840, Ch.67,s.3) 84 

Not to affect certain powers of (Act 1840, Ch, 67, s. 4) 84 

Additional powers (Act 1856, Ch. 17) 85 

Acceptance of 42 

Additional powers (Act 1878, Ch. 403) 85 

Acceptance of 49 

Copies of Charters 61 

Corporation for Relief of Widows and Children of Clergy, etc., incor- 
porated (Act 1784, Ch, 78) 99 

Amendment of same (Act 1884, Ch. 131) 101 

Corporation Laws of Maryland relating to religious corporations 114-118 

Court (see Ecclesiastical Court). 

Crimes and Punishments 118 

Curtis Bay, committee to have charge of Church property at 56 

Custodian of Records 51 

Dalrymple Library . . : 57 



134 



IXDEX. 



Dalrymple Library — Continued. PAGE. 

Resolution pertaining to same 58 

Day of Rest, Weekly ; . . . 63 

Deaconesses — 

Must be unmarried and may be appointed by any Bishop of the 

Church (C. 20, § I) 33 

Duties of (C. 20, HI) 33 

Age and qualifications of (C. 20, § III) 33 

Authority required to work in Diocese or Parish (C. 20, § IV) 33 

When not connected with a Parish to be under oversight of Bishop 

(C. 20, §D 33 

May be transferred from one Diocese to another (C. 20, § V) 33 

May resign at any time (C. 20, § VI) 33 

How suspended or removed (C. 20, § VI) 33 

To be set apart by religious service (C. 20. § VII) 33 

Declaration of Lay Delegates , 73 

Declaration of certain Rights of the Protestant Episcopal Church 3-5 

Declaration of Rights (State of Md., 1867) 74 

Degradation from Ministry, when sentence of may be imposed (C. XVII) 21 

Sentence of. how made known (C. XV) 23 

Degrees inhibited, table of 119-120 

Delegates to Convention (see Convention) {Con., Art. 2) 5 

Delegates to be residents of Parish which they represent 37 

Delegates, Declaration by 73 

Deputies to General Convention (C. XXVIII) 26 

Election of (C. XXVIII, s. 1) 26 

Expenses of (C. V) 11 

Expenses of 60 

Nominations for 57 

Ballot for, to be printed alphabetically 57 

Alternate Deputies to (C. XXVIII, s. 2) 26 

Must receive majority vote of Convention (C. XXVIII, s. 1) 26 

Secretary to notify at least one month before meeting of General 

Convention (C. XXVIII, s. 3) 26 

Secretary to designate alternates if any Deputies fail to signify inten- 
tion to attend (C. XXVIII, s. 3) 26 

Should deficiency occur in representation during Convention, Secre- 
tary to certify other persons for alternates (C. XXVIII, s. 3) . . . . 26 
Alternates, when furnished with certificates, to have powers of 

Deputies (C. XVIII, 3) 27 

Secretary to certify for vacancies in each Order persons receiving 

highest vote from that Order (C. XXVIII, s. 3) 27 

Secretary absent or unable to act, Assistant Secretary to discharge 

his duties ( C. XXI 7 III, s. ±) 27 

Nominations for ...57-60 

Destroying Church property maliciously 118 

Dimissory, Letters 31 



INDEX. 135 

PAGE. 

Diocese, division of 47-57 

Diocese, resolutions of General Convention consenting to 65 

Diocese, Seal of 62 

Diocesan Missions, Collections for 56 

Diocesan Missionary Aid 58 

Diocesan Theological Education Fund to be administered by Trustees 

of Church Charities 49 

Disabled and Superannuated Clergy — 

When entitled to seat in Convention {Con., Art. 2) 5 

When entitled to seat in Convention (C II) 10 

Fund for 51-52 

Fund for, to be administered by Trustees of Church Charities 56 

Discipline of Clergy (see Clergy) 18-23 

Discipline of Laity (C. XXII, XXIII) 23 

Donations and Bequests, Committee on, to consist of five laymen and to 

be appointed annually by Bishop 49 

Easton, erection of Diocese of 65 

Ecclesiastical Court — 

To be composed of seven Presbyters, not members of Standing 

Committee (C. XIV) 19 

To be appointed by Bishop, with consent of majority of Convention, 

biennially from 1847 (C. XIV) 19 

To continue in office until successors are elected (C. XIV) 19 

May be removed by vote of Convention (C. XIV) 19 

Bishop to issue precept to all members, directing five or more to pro- 
ceed with trial of accused (C. XIV) 19 

Bishop to transmit signed copy of charges to President of Court 

C. XIV) 20 

President to summon members of the Court for the trial (C XIV) . . 20 

Any five members who attend to constitute the Court (C. XIV) 20 

Immediately after election to choose President and Secretary 

(C. XIV).. 20 

Secretary of Court within five days after election to notify Bishop of 

election of President, etc. (C. XIV) 20 

President to administer oath to witnesses (C XVI) 21 

Presence of majority necessary to transact business (C. XVI) 21 

Who may vote on question of "guilty" or "not guilty" (C. XVI) 21 

When accused is to be acquitted by (C. XVI) 21 

Vote of, at least three members necessary to convict (C. XVI) 21 

When, though absent, accused may be tried (C XVIII) 22 

When accused, though absent, may be sentenced (C. XVIII) 22 

If verdict "guilty," opinion, testimony, etc., to be sent to Bishop 

(C. XIX) 22 

When to send opinion and testimony to Bishop of another Dio- 
cese (C. XXI) 22 

Educational Fund, Theological 49 



136 



IXDEX. 



PAGE. 

Enrollment, form of Parochial (see Registers) 72 

Enrollment, duty of Register 75 

Election of Bishop and Bishop Coadjutor (see Bishop). 

Episcopal Assessments, payment of 49 

Episcopal Fund (see Trustees of) ^ 37-59 

Episcopal Fund, accumulating 61 

Episcopal Office, vacancy in {Con.. Art. 7) 7 

Episcopate — 

Support of 59 

Vacancy in {Con., Art. 7) 7 

Permanent endowment of 61 

Episcopal Library — 

Committee on 48 

Librarian and Salary 48 

Dalrymple Collection 57 

Resolution accepting same 58 

W. W. Williams Fund 60 

Exemption from taxation 123 

Expenses — 

Defraying certain ( C. V) 11 

Official, of Bishop 50 

Family Worship (C. XXII) '. 23 

Forms and Instructions — 

Charges against Clergyman (C. XII) 18 

Call to Rectorship 53 

Petition for leave to organize a new Parish (Form /) 68 

Act creating separate Parish (Form II) 68 

Record of election of Vestrymen (Form III) 68 

Declaration of Assent to Constitutions and Canons (Form IV) 69 

Petition for admission of new Parish into union with Convention 

{Form V) 69 

Resolution admitting Parish into union with Convention (Form VI) 69 

Petition for leave to organize new Congregation (Form VII) 69 

Resolution granting leave to organize new Congregation (Form 

VIII) 70 

Certificate of incorporation of a new Congregation (Form IX) 70 

Petition for admission of new Congregation into union with Conven- 
tion (Form X) 72 

Resolution admitting new Congregation into union with Conven- 
tion (Form XI) 72 

Parish enrollment (Form XII) 72 

Certificate of appointment of Lay Delegate (Form XIII) 73 

Declaration of Lay Delegate (Form XIII) 73 

Oath of Vestryman (Form XIV) 73 

1 See Instructions.) 



INDEX. 137 

PAGE. 

Fines for Violation of Vestry Act to go to Vestries concerned (Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, s. xxvii) 80 

Funerals exempted from paying tolls 118 

General Convention — 

Canons of 28-36 

Deputies to and Alternate Deputies to (C. XXVIII) 26-27 

Resolutions of 65 

(See also Deputies to.) 

Hannah More Academy — 

Incorporated (Act 1837, Ch. 189) , 104 

Amended (Act 1874, Ch. 15) 105 

Accepted as the Diocesan School for Girls 48 

Loan to, by Convention from Keerl Fund 63 

Historiographer of the Diocese 63 

Holy Orders, candidates for 49 

Hospitals, ministering to sick in 63 

Incorporation — 

Acts to authorize, of religious bodies {Act 18o2, Ch. Ill, and Act 

1815, Ch. 222) 108-113 

General Laws of Maryland authorizing 114-123 

Informal Ballot — 

For election of Bishop {C. XXVII) 26 

For election of Bishop 60 

Instructions in Religion {C. XXIII) 23 

Instructions for formation of new Parishes 66 

Instructions for formation of new Congregations 67 

(See also Forms and Instructions.) 

Inhibited Degrees 119-120 

Investments — 

Resolution 1841, sec. 5 and 6 38 

Resolution 1866, sec. 6 and 7 47 

Journal of Convention — 

Secretary to preserve same {Con., Art. 8) 7 

To be sent to each Bishop and Bishop Coadjutor, to each Diocesan 
Secretary and to Secretary of the last House of Clerical and Lay 

Deputies (C. Ill) 10 

(C. 47, §//) 35 

To be sent to each Clergyman of Diocese and each Lay Delegate. . . 56 

Resolution relating to printing of- 61 

Keerl Fund — 

Disposition of (Res., 1898) . . 59 

Income from, not otherwise appropriated, to go to Committee of 

Missions (Res., 1903) 62 

Loan from, to Hannah More Academy 63 

Laity, Canons Concerning (Cs., XXII, XXIII) 23 



138 



INDEX. 



Lay Delegates— page. 
To be at least one from each Parish and separate Congregation in 

union with the Convention (Con., Art. 2) 5 

Declaration by, before entitled to seat in Convention (Con., Art. 2) . 6 

To be resident of Parish he represents 37 

Form of Declaration by 73 

Lay Readers — 

Must be communicant of the Church (C. 21, § I) 33 

Must be licensed by Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority (C. 21, § 7) . . 33 
License must not be for more than one year, which may be revoked 

at any time (C. 21, §7) 34 

Prerequisites to grant of license (C. 21, §7) 34 

Subject to Ecclesiastical Authority (C. 21, §77) 34 

When he may serve in another Diocese (C. 21, § 77) 34 

Powers and Duties (C. 21, § III) 34 

Letters Dimissory — 

Form of (C. 15, § V, s. i) 31 

Date of acceptance of beginning of canonical residence of Clergyman 

(C. 15, § V, s. ii) 31 

To be void if not presented in six months (C. 15, § V, s. Hi) 31 

When acceptance of may be declined (C. 15, § V, s. iv) 31 

Liberty, Religious (Declaration of Rights) 3 

Librarian, Salary of 48 

Library (see Episcopal Library). 

Licenses, Marriage 120-123 

Liturgy- 
Revision of (Dec. Rights, §IV) 4 

Use of (C. VII, s.2) 12 

Marriage Certificate (Code, Art. 62, 11) 123 

Laws of Maryland relating thereto 118-123 

Table of inhibited degrees 119-120 

Marrying Unlawfully — 

Within prohibited degrees, fine $500 118 

White and negro, fine $100 119 

Persons not authorized by laws of State to marry, fine $500 119 

Without a license or publication of banns, fine $100 to $500 119-122 

Parties under age, fine $500 119 

Contracting parties to obtain license 120 

In lieu of license, banns may be published three times in Church in 

county where woman resides.. 120 

Quakers excepted 120 

Minister to make two certificates, to deliver one to contracting 

parties and to return other to Clerk of Court issuing license 121 

Failure of Minister to return certificate to Clerk within 30 days, 

fine $10 122 



INDEX. 



139 



Marrying Unlawfully — Continued. page. 
Form of certificate to be sent Clerk of Court when banns are pub- 
lished 122 

Failure to transmit such certificate in 60 days, fine $10 122 

Maryland Church Building Fund 51 

Maryland, Laws of 74-123 

Extracts from Code, 1904 114-123 

Relating to formation of religious corporations 114-118 

Relating to formation of religious corporations (Act 1802, Ch. Ill, 

now repealed) 108-113 

Members of Church to instruct families in religion (C. XXIII) 23 

Members of Church to cause their children to attend catechetical instruc- 
tion, etc. (C. XIII) 23 

Messiah, Church of (Act 1872, Ch. 297) 94-95 

Ministering to sick in hospitals 58 

Ministers (see also Clergy) — 

Support of (C. X) : 17 

To be paid quarterly in advance (C. X) 17 

Duties and Powers — 

To keep Parish Register (C. XXIV) i 24 

When deemed "settled" (C. 14, § IV) 28 

When Rector, to have control of worship and spiritual jurisdiction of 

Parish (C. 15, %I,s. i) 28 

Subject to rubrics of Book of Common Prayer and Canons of 

Church (C. 15, § I, s. i) 28 

Subject to godly counsel of Bishop (C. 15, § s. i) 29 

All other Ministers of Parish under authority of Rector (C. 15, 

§ I, s. i) . 29 

Rector to have use and control of Church and Parish Buildings 

(C. 15, § I, s. ii) 29 

Subject to Bishop, Priest in charge to have control of Missionary 

Cure (C. 15, §/, s. Hi) 29 

Duties of, when in charge of Parish or Cure (C 15, § II, s. i) 29 

Duties, in reference to Bishop's Visitation (C. 15, § II, s. ii) 29 

At Visitation to give Bishop information of state of Congregation 

(C. 15, s. Hi) 29 

Alms and offering for poor, how to be applied (C 15, § II, s. iv) 29 

To read Pastoral Letter of House of Bishops within one month 

after its receipt (C. 15, § II, s. v) 29 

What to enter on Parish Register (C. 15, § 7i7, s. i) 30 

Officiating, to sign registry of baptism (C 15, §111, s. ii) 30 

To make and keep list of families and adults within his Cure 

(C. 15, §77/, s. Hi) 30 

Not to officiate in another's Cure without consent (C. 15, § IV, s. i) . 30 
When two or more congregations in Cure, what necessary 

(C. 15, §IV, s. i) - 30 



140 



INDEX. 



Ministers — Continued. page:. 

When consent to officiate in another's Cure not necessary (C. 15, 
%IV, s. ii) 30 

Removing from one Diocese to another (C. 15, § V, s. i) 30 

Canonical residence to date from acceptance of Letters Dimissory 
(C 1 . 15, § V, s ii) 31 

Not to officiate for more than two months where not canonically 
resident without license from Ecclesiastical Authority (C. 15, 
§ V , s. Hi) • 31 

Before removing to another Diocese to obtain certificate of Ecclesi- 
tical Authority (C. 15, § V, s. v) 21 

Canon relating to, ordained in foreign countries by Bishop in Com- 
munion with the Church (C. 17) 32 

Certificate required, before officiating in this Church (C. 17, $l,s.i) . 32 

When he may take charge of Parish in United States and prerequi- 
sites therefor (C. 17, § I, s . ii) 32 

Ordained in foreign country must reside in United States one year 
after acceptance of credentials before he can canonically take 
charge of Parish (C. 17, § /, s. ii) 32 

If a Deacon, must reside in United States one year before ordered 
Priest (C. 17, ill) 32 

To make annual report to Bishop (C. 47, § /) 35 

With Vestry, responsible for spiritual interest of Parish 39 

Receiving Missionary Aid, to place five Sundays a year at disposal of 
Bishop 58 

Performing baptism, etc., where not a settled Minister, must report 
fact to Rector or Vestry of Parish, who shall communicate same 
to Rector thereof (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xx) 79 

Fine for not so doing (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxi) 79 

Missionaries — 

Title of, to seats in Convention (Con., Art. 2) 5 

Appointment of (C. VIII, s. 5) 15 

Missionary Aid, Diocesan 58 

Services during each session of Convention 48 

Missions, Committee of — 

When and how elected, 3 clergymen and 3 laymen (C. VIII, s. 1).. 14 

Members of ex-officio (C. VIII, s. 2) 14 

Members elected from each Archdeaconry (C. IX, s. 4) 16 

Vacancies, how filled 14 

Quorum of (C. VIII , ^.2) 14 

Duties of (C. VIII, s. 3, 4) 14 

Not to establish Missions or appoint Missionary without consent of 

Ecclesiastical Authority of Diocese (C. VIII, s. 5) 15 

To receive and disburse funds for superannuated and disabled 

Clergy (C. VIII, s. 6) 15 

Treasurer of, and duties (C. VIII, s. 7) 15 

Duties of Ministers in connection with (C. VIII, s. 8) 15 



INDEX. 



141 



Missions — Continued. page. 

Substituted for City Committee of Missions (C. VIII, s. 9) 15 

When to receive income from Permanent Clerical Sustentation 

Fund (C. IX) 17 

To arrange missionary services at each session of Convention. ...... 48 

To hold sessions in such cities and churches as it may select 51 

To administer Superannuated and Disabled Clergy Fund 52 

In its discretion to apportion sum to be raised for Diocesan Missions 52 

Resolution in regard to collections for 56 

(See Baltimore City Protestant Episcopal Missionary Committee.) 

Music of the Church (C. 44) 34 

Name of Church, change of ' 51 

New Parishes and Congregations — 

Not to be formed without consent of Convention (C. VII, s. 1) 12 

Church edifice must be assured and must not be so indebted as to en- 
danger stability (C. VII, s. 1) 12 

Not to be considered part of the Protestant Episcopal Church of this 
Diocese without strict conformity to the Liturgy of said Church, 
and if a Parish without conformity to the Vestry Act of 1798 

(C. VII, s. 1) 12 

Petition for leave to organize must be placed in hands of Bishop or 
Ecclesiastical Authority at least three months before meeting of 

Convention (C. VII, s. 2) 12 

Form of petition (C. VII, s. 2, 3) 12 

Form of petition and instructions 66-73 

Reasons to be given (C. VII, s. 2) 12 

Affidavit to accompany same and what it must contain (C. VII, s. 2) 13 
Map must accompany petition if Parish is to be formed (C VII, s. 2) 13 
Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority to transmit all papers to Commit- 
tee on, at least 60 days before meeting of Convention (C. VII,s.2, 3) 3 3 
Committee to hear applications and report at next Convention 

(C. VII, s. 2) 13 

How Parish or Congregation shall apply for admission into union 

with Convention (C. VII, s. 3) 13 

How Parish or Congregation ceasing to be in union with Convention 

can be readmitted (C. VII, s. 4) 13-14 

None to be formed without consent of Bishop and Standing Com- 
mittee (C. VII, s. 5) 14 

Duties of Secretary in formation of a New Parish or Congregation. . 59 
(See Forms and Instructions.) 
Nominations for Standing Committee and Deputies to General Conven- 
tion to be printed alphabetically 57 

Non-acceptance of Act of Assembly, 1892, Ch. 702 58 

Oath for Vestrymen — 

Form of 73 

Prescribed by (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s, vi) 76 

Orders, candidates for 49 



142 



INDEX. 



Orders of Ministers — page. 

{Dec. Rights, § //, ///) 3-4 

Vote by, when required by five members of Convention {Con., Art. 4) 6 

Vote by, to be separate {Con., Art. 4) 6 

Vote by, concurrence of majority of both Orders necessary {Con., 

Art. 4) 6 

Ordination, no person refused in any Diocese to be afterwards trans- 
ferred thereto without consent of Bishop thereof {C. 15, § V. s. vi) 31 
Parishes (see also New Parishes and Congregations) — 

Boundaries of 39 

Each entitled to one Lay Delegate in the Convention {Con., Art. 2) 5 

When entitled to more than one Lay Delegate {Con., Art. 2) 5-6 

When union with Convention is forfeited {C. VII, s. 4) 13-14 

How readmitted into union {C. VII, s. 4) 14 

Defunct {C. VII, s. 4) 13 

Register, how to be kept and what to contain {C. XXIV) 24 

Register, to be exhibited to Bishop (C 15, § 77, s. Hi) 29 

Register, what shall be entered therein {C. 15, § 777, s. i) 30 

And Congregations, how to be organized and duties of Vestries and 

Ministers thereof 39 

Parochial Reports, etc. — 

In absence of Bishop, to be delivered to President of Convention 

{C. VI) 11 

Effect of failure to make {C. VII, s. 4) 13 

Pastoral Aid (C. VIII, s. 4) 14 

Collections for 56 

Letter from House of Bishops to be read to Congregation not later 

than one month from its receipt {C. 15, § II, s. v) 29 

Permanent Clerical Sustentation Fund {C. XI) 17 

To be administered by Trustees of Church Charities {C. XI) 17 

After yearly income amounts to $1,000, same to go to Committee of 

Missions {C. XI) \ 17 

When surplus to be used for establishment and maintenance of Mis- 
sion Stations in Diocese (C. XI) 17 

An offertory for, requested from each Parish and Congregation an- 
nually 48 

Permanent endowment of Episcopate, amount thereof and contributions 

expected from Parishes and Congregations 61 

Petitions to organize Parishes, etc. (see Forms and Instructions and 
New Parishes and Congregations). 

Poole Fund 57 

Preliminary vote for Bishop {C. XXVII) 26 

Preliminary vote for Bishop {Res., 1900) 60 

President of Convention — 

To be elected from Order of Priests {Con., Art. 7) 7 

Vote to be by joint ballot of both Orders {Con., Art. 7) * 7 



INDEX. 143 

President of Convention — Continued. page. 

To retain office until election of next President {Con., Art. 7) 7 

Duties and privileges of {Con., Art. 7) 7 

Not to call special Convention unless on call of majority of Stand- 
ing Committee {Con., Art. 7) 7 

If none, when Standing Committee may call special Convention 

{Con., Art. 1) 7 

If Bishop not present at Convention, President pro tern, may be 

elected {Con., Art. 7) 7 

Powers to be exercised by {C. XV) 20 

Procedure where, he is accused {C. XV) 20 

Prisoners, ministering to 58-59 

Proceedings against Clergymen (see also Clergy and Ecclesiastical Court) 

{Cs. XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII. XIX, XX, XXI) 18-23 

Qualification of Vestrymen 54-55 

Quorum of Convention {Con., Art. 3) 6 

Quorum for election of Vestrymen {Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. v) 76 

Quorum of Vestry {Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. vii) 76 

Readers, Lay (see Lay Readers). 
Records — 

Committee on, appointment, composition and duties of 45 

Collection and preservation of 45 

Custodian of, to exchange Journals, etc., for books of value to Epis- 
copal Library 51 

Custodian authorized to destroy old papers relating to Journals of 

Convention prior to 1886 51 

To be deposited and preserved in place designated by Bishop 54 

Of new Parishes and Congregations to be filed by Secretary with 

keeper of the records 59 

Committee on, to obtain copies of charters of Parishes, etc., for filing 

in Episcopal Library 61 

Rector — 

Name of proposed, to be submitted to Bishop {C. 14, § /) .28 

Notice of election of, to be sent to Ecclesiastical Authority of Dio- 
cese (C. 14, IIII) 28 

To preside in meeting of Vestry (C 51, § III) 36 

To preside in meeting of Vestry {Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. viii) 76 

Receiving pastoral aid to report to Committee of Missions 52 

Together with Register, to keep Parish Records 55 

Form of call to '. 55 

To have glebe lands, etc. {Act 1792, Ch. 24, s. viii) 76 

To be member 1 of Vestry {Act 1802, Ch, 111, s. Hi) 109 

To be member of Vestry {Code 1904, Art. XXIII, s. 304) 116 

Duty of Vestry to support {C. X) 17 

Formerly when more than one Minister they presided in Vestry in 

rotation, etc. {Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xvi) 78 

Associate Rectors {Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xvi) 78 



144 



IXDEX. 



Rector — Continued. page. 

Rights of priority (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xvi) 78 

Rights of priority now abolished (Act 1827, Ch. 20) 82 

When Vestry, or any two members thereof, may call Vestry meeting 

instead of Rector (Act 1798, Ch. 24, xxiv) 79 

Register of Parish — 

To be exhibited to Bishop (C. 15, § II, s. Hi) 29 

Ministers to record baptisms, confirmations, marriages, burials and 

names of all communicants within his Cure (C. 15, % III, s. i) 30 

Registry of Baptism to be signed by officiating Minister (C. 15, 

§ 777, s. ii) 30 

Also list of families and adults connected with his Cure (C. 15, 

§ III, s. Hi) 30 

Of Vestry to keep records, together with Rector 55 

To enroll members of the Church 55 

Not to be controlled by Vestry in the discharge of his duties 55 

Not to require members to be enrolled each year 55 

Vestry to select (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xviii) 78 

Oath and duties of (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xix) 79 

To have custody of all papers and records, to show the same to per- 
sons entitled to see them, to give certificates of entries therein, 
which certificates shall be evidence in the courts of Maryland, and 

fees for such certificates (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxii) 79 

To be provided with record book, etc. (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxiii) ... 79 

Penalties for failure to elect, etc. (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxiii) 79 

Register to notify Vestrymen elect (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxvi) 78-80 

Repealed Acts 108-112 

Resolutions of Convention of Maryland 37-64 

Resolutions of, authorizing publication of Compilations 2 

Resolutions of General Convention 65 

Retiring allowance (C. VIII, s. 6) 15 

Rights, Declaration of 3-4 

Salary — 

Of Bishop 50 

Of Assistant Bishop ' 47 

Of Secretary 48 

Of Librarian 48 

Standing Committee — 

Nominations for, to be made on first day of Convention 57 

Nominations to be printed alphabetically 57 

To consist of seven members from the Order of Priests (Con., 

Art 9) . ... 7 

To be elected annually by joint ballot of Clergy and Laity (Con., 

Art 9) 7 

Vacancies to be filled by majority of remaining members ( Con., Art. 9). 7 

When it may call special Convention (Con., Art. 7) 7 



INDEX. 145 

Standing Committee — Continued. page. 
Together with Bishop, to consent to establishment of new places of 

worship (C. VII, 5) 14 

In case office of Treasurer of Convention is vacant, to advise with 

Bishop and consent to appointment of successor (C. IV, s. 2) 11 

May present facts to Bishop as ground for charges against Clergy- 
man (C. XII) 18 

Members of, cannot be members of Ecclesiastical Court (C. XIV) ... 19 
Where President of Convention is accused, Standing Committee to 

take canonical steps for his trial (C. XV) 20 

Bishop may call special meetings of (C. XXV) 25 

Last elected shall perform duties until new elected (C. XXV) 25 

Secretary of, to keep faithful record of proceedings (C. XXV) 25 

Record of, to be subject to examination of Bishop (C. XXV) 25 

To report to Convention annually (C. XXV) 25 

St. James 5 College — 

Incorporated (Act 1843, Ch. 253) 86 

Act of 1846, Ch. 172, prohibits sale of liquor within two miles of . . . . 87 

Charter amended (Act 1868, Ch. 381) , 87 

St. John's Parish, Baltimore and Harford Counties (Act 1821, Ch. 234) . 102 

St. John's Church, Queen Caroline Parish (Act 1822, Ch. 4) 103 

St. Mary's Church, Hampden 62 

Trustees for certain property for 57 

Payments made by Trustees ratified 62 

Unexpended income of, to go to 63 

St. Paul's Orphan Asylum (see Benevolent Society of the City and 

County of Baltimore). 96-97 

St. Paul's School, incorporated (Act 1856, Ch. 95) 98 

St. Peter's Church- 
Incorporation of (Act. 1802, Ch. 105) 88 

Amendment of same (Act 1803, Ch. 45) 88 

Relating to Vestry thereof (Act 1858, Ch. 300) 89 

St. Peter's School (Act 1805, Ch. 6) 90 

St. Peter's Asylum for Female Children (Act 1849, Ch. 525) 91 

St. Timothy's Hall- 
Incorporation of (Act 1847, Ch. 209) 96 

Amendment of same (Act 1852, Ch. 319) 96 

Sale of Church property not valid unless assented to by five of Vestry, of 
whom Rector shall be one, together with Churchwarden (Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, s. xxix) 80 

Seal of Diocese to be in custody of Secretary and to be attested by him. . . 52 

Seal of Diocese, adoption of new and description thereof 62 

Seats in Convention/rights of Clergy to (Con., Art. 2) 5 

Seats in Convention, rights of Clergy to (C. I) 9 

Secretary of Convention — 

To be chosen by joint ballot (Con., Art. 8) 7 

To remain in office until next election ( Con., Art. 8) 7 



146 INDEX. 

Secretary of Convention — Continued. page. 

If but one nomination, ballot ma} 7 be dispensed with (Con., Art. 8) . . 7 

Duties of (Con., Art. 8) 7 

Absentees from Convention to be noted by (C. II) 10 

To whom to transmit annually copies of Journal (C. Ill, s. 1) 10 

To request copies of Journal of the several Dioceses in exchange 

(C. Ill, s. 1) 10 

Transmit to each General Convention certificates of clerical and lay 

deputies thereto (C. Ill, s. 2) 10 

Transmit certificate of election of Trustee for General Theological 

Seminary (C. III,s. 2) 10 

To record notice of election of Rectors, etc. (C. 14, § 777) 28 

Effect of such record (C. 14, § 777) 28 

To publish Parochial Reports with Journal (C. 47, §7) 35 

To forward Journal to Secretary of House of Deputies (C. 47, § II) . 35 

Also statistics showing state of Church (C. 47, § II) 35 

Salary of 48 

To have custody of Seal of Convention and to attest same 50 

To use word "apportionment" in place of assessment in the Journal. 52 

To give page in Journal for notice of Church Home and Infirmary. . 52 

To send copy of Journal to each Clergyman and Lay Delegate 56 

To file copy of Act admitting new Parish, together with map, if any, 

with Keeper of the Records 59 

To file certified copy of incorporation of new congregations with 

Keeper of the Records 59 

(See Deputies to General Convention.) 
Securities, etc. — 

Belonging to Convention to be deposited with a safe deposit company 

in names of respective Committees and Treasurers 60 

Who to have access to Safe Deposit Boxes 60 

Expenses of boxes to be borne by incomes of respective funds 60 

Settled Minister defined (C. 14, § IV) 28 

State of Church- 
Ministers and Churchwardens to make annual report to Conven- 
tion (C. 47, § I) 35 

Of what said report shall consist (C. 47, § I) 35 

To be published with Journal by Secretary of Convention (C. 47, §7) . 35 

Stone, Bishop, portrait of, acceptance, etc 54 

Sunday — 

How celebrated and observed (C. 43) 34 

Observance of 50 

Superannuated and Disabled Clergy — 

Retiring allowance for (C. VIII, s. 6) 15 

Collections for, to be made on Christmas and Thanksgiving Day. . . 51-52 

Fund thus collected to be administered by Committee of Missions.. 52 

Other funds for, administered by Trustees of Church Charities 56 

Support of Episcopate 59 



INDEX. 147 

PAGE. 

Sustentation Fund (C. XI) 17 

Sustentation Fund, offertory for 48 

Taxation, Exemption from 123 

Theological Education Fund, Diocesan 49 

Tolls, funerals exempted from payment of 118 

Treasurer of Convention— 

To be elected annually (C. IV, s. 1) 10 

To hold office until successor is elected (C. IV, s. 1) 10 

Duties of (C. IV, s. 2) 11 

To receive and disburse moneys under authority of Convention 

(CY IV, s. 2) 11 

To account annually to Convention (C. IV, s. 2) 11 

With consent of Committee on Ways and Means, may pay incidental 

expenses not exceeding $100 per annum (C. IV, s. 2) 11 

Vacancy in office, how filled (C. IV, s. 2) 11 

To act as attorney for Convention in acknowledging instruments of 

writing when required 50 

Trial of Clergymen (see Clergy, Ecclesiastical Court) 18-22 

Trinity Church, donation by, of $2,000 to Church of Holy Comforter, 

Baltimore 63 

Trustees of Church Charities — 

To administer Permanent Clerical Sustentation Fund (C. XI) 17 

Creation, election and duties of 45-46 

Bishop to be member ex-officio 46 

Divided into three classes 46 

Vacancies in, how rilled 46 

Meetings of and quorum 46-47 

Investments by, how made and disposed of 47 

To keep a Journal 47 

Journal and books of Treasurer to be laid before the Convention 

annually 47 

Rules relating to, how altered 47 

To have charge of Diocesan Theological Educational Fund 49 

Trustees of Episcopal Fund — 

Divided into three classes 38 

Election of, and term of office 38 

Vacancies in, how filled 38 

Meetings of, and quorum 38 

Treasurer of, appointment and duties 38 

Funds of, how to be invested , 38 

Investments in, what name made and how sold 39 

To keep a Journal 39 

Journal and Treasurer's books to be laid before Convention annually 39 

Rules relating to, how altered 39 

Treasurer of, to pay net income of funds quarterly to Treasurer of 

Convention 59 



148 



INDEX. 



Trustees of Episcopal Fund — Continued. page. 
To administer funds for permanent endowment of Episcopate, same 

to be accumulated until it reaches $100,003 61 

Treasurer of, to notify all Clergy three months before each Conven- 
tion, requesting contributions to this fund 61 

Trustees of Hannah More Academy (see Hannah More Academy). 
Trustees of Lands from the Keerl Estates (see Keerl Funds). 
Trustees of Warfield College, of whom to consist, how selected and 

duties 53 

Vacant Parishes and Congregations (C. XXVI) 25 

Vacant Parishes and Congregations (C. 14) 28 

Vestries — 

Each entitled to Lay Delegate in Convention {Con., Art. 2) 5 

When entitled to more than one {Con., Art. 2) : 5-6 

When certificate from, entitles Clergyman to seat in Convention {C.I) 9 
To pay annually to Treasurer of Convention proportion required 

thereby for expenses and salaries (C. V) 11 

To elect Lay Delegates to Archdeaconries (C. IX. s. 3) 16 

To provide for payment of Ministers, etc. (C. X) 17 

Of accused, admitted to Ecclesiastical Court pending trial (C. XVI) 21 
To receive copy of Ecclesiastical sentence of Clergyman connected 

therewith (C. XX) 22 

To provide book for Parish Register (C. XXIV) 24 

To notify Bishop or Standing Committee of vacancy in Rectorship 

(C. XXVI) > 25 

To make provision for divine service during vacancy (C. XXVI) ... 25 
Failing to do so, when Bishop may supply same at its expense 

(C. XXVI) 25 

To exhibit Parish Register to Bishop on his visitation (C. 15, 

§ II, s. Hi) 29 

When to appoint Almoner (C. 15, § II, s. iv) 29 

When to have power to permit any duly qualified Minister to officiate 

in Parish (C. 15, § IV, s. ii) 30 

Certificate to be exhibited to,, before Minister ordained outside of 

United States may officiate (C. 17, §1, s. i) 32 

Election of, and term of office (C. 51, §/) . 36 

To be agents and legal representatives of Parish (C. 51, § 77) 36 

Rector to preside in meetings of (C. 51, § 777) 36 

Responsibilities of 39 

English 40 

When to act with Wardens of Church 42 

Legal capacity of Parish and Select 43 

Select, Act of March, 1779, and Vestry, Act 1798, Ch. 24 44 

Qualification of Voters for (Res., 1893) 54 

Register of, to keep records, together with Rector 55 

Not to control Register in exercise of his duties 55 



INDEX. 



149 



Vestries — Continued. page. 

Call by, of Rector 55 

Qualifications of 55 

Notification to, in connection with formation of new Congregation . . 67 

Form of record of election of Vestrymen 68 

To adhere to doctrine, etc., of Church 70 

Act 1798, Ch. 24 74-81 

Manner of choosing and qualification of voters for (Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, s. ii) 75 

Election for, to be on Easter Monday (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. ii) 75 

Election, place where held ( Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. ii) 75 

At first election eight to be elected (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. ii) 75 

Rector to be always a member of (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. ii) 75 

Register to enroll church members (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. Hi) 75 

Penalty for not so doing (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. Hi) 75 

Vacancies in, how filled (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. iv) 75 

Annual elections for, when and where held (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. iv) . . 75 

Vestry to be judges of election (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. v) 76 

Oath of office of (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. vi) > 76 

To be four stated meetings each year (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. vii) 76 

What constitutes a quorum of (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. vii) 76 

Notice of adjourned and special meetings (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. vii) . . 76 
Rector to preside at meetings of, and to vote when there is an equal 

division unless interested (Act 1798, Ch. 24 ? s. viii) 76 

Parish property to which Rector is entitled (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. viii) 76 
To have title to Church and Parish property and to manage and 

direct same (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. ix) 76 

Rector committing waste, etc., liable to treble damages (Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, s. x) 77 

Each Easter Monday to select two Wardens (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xi) 77 

Powers of Wardens (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xii) 77 

Election not held Easter Monday, may be held at another time (Act 

1798, Ch. 24, s. xiii) 77 

Method of giving notice for (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xiii) 77 

Wardens may be chosen at subsequent meeting (Act 1798, Ch. 24, 

s. xiv) 77 

May call Minister for such time and on such terms as they may think 

proper (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xv) 77 

Contract so made to remain until a new one is made (Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, s. xv) 78 

Rights of priority where more than one Minister in Parish (Act 

1798, Ch. 24, s. xvi) 78 

May take subscriptions for support of Minister (Act 1798, Ch. 24, 

s. xvii) 78 

Must provide fit person for Register (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xviii, xix) 78 



150 



IXDEX. 



Vestries — Continued. page. 
Penalty for not appointing Register and providing record book (Act 

1798. Ch. 24, s. xxiii) 79 

Method of calling special meetings {Act 1798, Ch. 24. s. xxiv) 79 

Liable to fine for not attending meetings of (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxv) 79 
When elected, must serve, and penalty for refusing to act (Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, ^. xxi'i) 80 

Fines imposed to be for use of Parish (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxvii) . .• 80 
For the time being a corporation and powers thereof {Act 1798, 

Ch. 24, s. xxrui) 80 

To sell Church property five members of. Rector and Wardens must 

consent (Act 1798, Ch. 24, ^. xxix) 80 

When no Rector, Bishop's consent necessary (Act 1798, Ch 24, 

^. xxix) 80 

To what proceeds of such sale cannot be applied {Act 1798, Ch. 24. 

s. xxx) 80 

May sell lots in burying ground and rent and sell pews {Act 179S. 

Ch. 24. ^. xxxi) 81 

May sue and be sued (general powers) (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxxii) . . 81 
Method of creating new Parishes, etc. (Act 1798, Ch. 24, s. xxxiii) . . 81 
Elections for, how had, when no persons enrolled as required by Act 

1798, Ch. 24 (Act 1823, Ch. 29) 81-82 

Associate Rectorships abolished and Assistant Ministers substituted 

(Act 1827, Ch. 52) 82 

Stated Meetings of, abolished (Act 1826. Ch. 136, 3) 82 

When Register may give certificates from Register not under seal 

(Act 1833, Ch. 196) 83 

Warden? (see Churchwardens). 

Warfield College, Trustees of. of whom composed, how appointed and 

duties 53 

Ways and Means (see Committee on). 

Weekly Day of Rest 63 

Whittingham, Bishop, portrait of, acceptance and care of 54 

Williams, Walter W., Fund 60 



M1U S4 WOT 



